The Dark Decent
by AruaPearl44
Summary: While on their way to the Unova League, Ash and friends get invited to a tournament in Yoka Village. However, a man named Eddie appears and things start to go horribly wrong. But who is Eddie? How are he and Ash connected? Who is this Pyramid Headed monster? And what will happen to the gang when Yoka Village turns into Silent Hill? (Sequel to 'The Light before the Dark'.)
1. prologue

Prologue

In the deep recesses of a small antique shop, there was a woman wearing a traditional red and white shrine maiden outfit with a vial over her face. She was at a gypsy table with a crystal ball. Inside the ball was the image of a large human-like creature that wore an executioner's outfit and a girl with black hair. The girl was being held by the 'executioner'. The woman was making strange noises that kind of sound like words. She had been at this for hours now and yet there was still no sign of progress. After a few seconds, she sighed and stopped. She wasn't getting anywhere with her spell, which was her last chance at finding the two. She and her fellow priestesses have looked high and low for the missing pair for over 11 years now and yet she had nothing to prove that 'Alessa' nor 'the red executioner' were still in this world. She sighs. The last time she was found was in the host of Cheryl Mason, however, a certain 'man' interfered with their plans. She looks at the orb. "Oh lord, why must it be so harder to get a connection with Xuchilbara? He used to be such a promenade member of your Order, but he won't answer us. Not even our prayers get answered by him. I know he can be a bit of a pain to get a hold of normally, but even with our highest priestesses we get nothing. Oh lord, what has happened to him? Give me a sign or something to tell us what has happened to him. We need his specialty in hunting to cleanse this world for you and to find you a proper host again." She said, praying to her god. After a few seconds, her Xtransciever rang. She picks it up. "Hello? ...Oh, hello our dear financier. What is it that you need? …What? The Sinnoh League champion has come to your office to make a deal with us. Okay, what does he want and what will he give up in return? … WHAT!? HE…HE KNOWS WHERE XUCHILBARA IS, AND HE'S BEEN TRAPPED IN A HUMAN TRAINER! I…I can't believe it! This explains so much. We've got to save him! …Okay, you and the champion get to know each other and make a plan to save our dear Xuchilbara, and I will start getting everything prepared him to be reborn and awaken…Okay, bye." She said, and then hanged up her phone. She sighs in relief before going back to folding her hands and praying. "Oh, thank you lord, thank you." She said a wide smile on her face.

(Somewhere else.)

In a small dark room, a very young boy was standing next to a clock. The clock ticks as a pendulum swings. The young boy was looking around, confused. He had raven black hair and was wearing a white shirt with blue shorts. He didn't know where he was, or why he was even there. Suddenly a swish of wind could be heard. He looked at the direction where he heard the wind, however, there was nothing there. The boy is confused by this. What was going on? He soon felt something wrap around him. It felt icy and made him shiver. He holds himself as he tries to warm up. **"There are many types of monsters in this world. Some you are aware exist, and others you've shut yourself away from their existence."** A voice asked. It was familiar to the boy. The boy blinked. What was it talking about? **"The first class of monsters is these 'pocket monsters'. They are strange and yet beautiful creatures and we've been with them for a very long. We love them, care for them, and have fun with them, but we know they are also dangerous and wild. The second class of monster is 'human monsters'. Those draped in the skin of men, but with blackest hearts, eager to pervert the laws of nature and endanger the innocent for their own gain. Of course, these monsters we've dealt with a lot. After all, to catch a sinner, you have to be a sinner. And then there are the murderous creatures of the darkness, inspired by the most horrific nightmares. Brutal abominations, their sole purpose: to torment. Is that what we are? Or are we more than that? Tell me this boy?"** It asked a bit confused. Ash was even more confused. He remembers the monster who haunted him in his nightmares. The blonde hair beast who looks like a man, yet acts nothing like one. Is this the monster's voice? He didn't remember it being so…gruff. It didn't sound like Pokelantis, a spirit who is stuck in his body, nor Luc who was his physiological guardian, so it had to be that monster. Ash shocked his head, he had to answer this…thing. "I'm not a monster, monster! I'm not you! Why are you even talking to me?" Ash angrily asked. A chuckle could be heard as he felt something swirl around him. **"Because the time of judgement is nearing dear innocent me, and yet you still have much to learn. Our purpose is to hunt and be vigilant, but you have only done that with our creatures. If we met true sinners, could you judge on your own, especially with my power locked away thanks to that dog? What about her? Can you protect the ones you love from yourself and the sinners?"** The voice asked. Ash growled. "I don't know what you're rambling about, but I'm never going to let my friends get hurt. I'm going to protect them from any harm you dish out!" Ash roared. The voice let out a satisfied 'hmm'. **"So you say. But can you really defend people from me and from the monsters? Can you really stand up against your own reflection? Or will you be overcome by horror and succumb to madness as many outsiders already have? Would you tear out our eyes, trying to block out the brutality of my hellish world? Or would you feel right at home?"** It asked. Ash blinked. 'Hellish' world? What was the creature even talking about? Ash shocked his head and then nodded. "Yes! Whatever you have up your selves, I can handle it. After all, I am you. There is nothing you can think up that can scare me." Ash said. The creature chuckled. **"So you say. Let's just see."** It said. Soon everything went white.

…

Ash blinks as he wakes up. He looks around and sees that it was still the middle of the night, and he hadn't woken up any of his friends. He sighed in relief before he looked up to the sky. He soon remembered the monster's warning. He then remembered the one time he accidentally let it free. He could still feel the horrors it did, and he knew he could never let it escape him. 'I'm not going to let any monster win. Not ever.' Ash thought, he soon went back to bed.


	2. Chapter 1

ch. 1

The sun shined brightly today as three young trainers ride the bus to their next destination. One of them, a young boy with raven black hair, was looking out the windows to look at the forest that surrounded them. He had heard many tales about the woods around Yoka Village from his friend and dragon expert, Iris. He heard they were very thick and full of strong Pokémon. The town itself was several miles from the next town. Too far to walk, even for a journeyman or Pokémon trainer. That's why the bus was the most popular way to get into the town. It was a huge bus, but it was packed full of trainers chattering about the tournament they were formally invited to. Among them were the three heroes who were sitting near each other. One was Iris, a black girl with big dark purple hair with three buns, two on the top and one as a ponytail, and large brown eyes. She wore a white shirt; pink sweater rapped her waist, a purple skirt, white pants, a pink backpack, and tan sandals. The one next to her was Cilan, a tall white boy with short green hair, green eyes, had a large brown backpack, and wore a black waiter outfit with a green bow tie. And across from them was a boy with thick raven black hair, a white and red hat with a blue Pokeball, and auburn eyes. He had a blue and white short jacket on with short sleeves and a yellow zipper, a green backpack on his back, black fingerless gloves with red wristbands, brown pants, and red and white shoes. The boy, who had been looking out the window, was Ash Ketchum. Ash turns his head and looks at his friends as they made their way to Yoka Village. It actually wasn't that far from Iris's home town, but they still had to take the bus in order to reach the village. Ash was so excited. He had just received a letter not that long ago saying he was chosen for a tournament to prove his worthiness. Worthiness of what, he didn't know, but he was excited. He looked at Pikachu who looked concerned and was sitting on the boy's shoulder. Ash soon remembered the last time he received an invitation like this. He was invited to view and learn about vertical Pokémon by Dr. Young, but it turned out to be a trap to get Ash's knowledge of the legendary Pokémon. The doctor was a mad-scientist planning on taking over the world with the legendries, but thankfully, Ash and a virtual Mew were able to stop him. Ash still felt a little sad that the vertical Mew disappeared forever and that Young was now confirmed to be dead, but he was a little glad that the man got what was coming to him.

Ash looked at the invitation and then at his buddy. "Don't worry, Pikachu. It's not going to be like Dr. Young. This is totally different." Ash said. Pikachu sighed. The mouse really hoped that this wasn't a trap. Ash then looked at the letter. He decided to read it again to refresh his mind on what this whole trip was about. _"Dear_ _Ash Ketchum_ _, we have heard of your various victories against_ _Team Rocket, Team Magma and Aqua, and Team Galactic_ _, and when we saw you at the __World Tournament Junior Cup event_ _, we were very impressed. We would like to cordially invite you to our fair city of Yoka village for our annual Battle Competition. It's full of tough opponents and fierce competitors, so bring you're A game. We have given you free bus tickets for you and your friends, and we hope you come to Yoka Village_ _and prove your worthiness_ _. We'll be waiting."_ It said. Ash smiled. He couldn't wait to get to the Village. He looked at his friends, but suddenly he felt sad. He couldn't help but miss his friend, Dawn. She had left them about a week ago so she could go to the Wallace cup, and he wouldn't see her again for a long, long time. Ash sighed; at least he stopped Team Rocket again. 'But…I wished she was still here. If she just stayed a little longer, then she would see me in another tournament, then maybe I would actually win one this time.' Ash thought, a bit bitter. He shocked his head. He shouldn't be mad at her. She was going after her dream, and that's what's important. He shouldn't be angry that she left. "I wonder why I hadn't gotten an invitation as well. I was a part of the competition as well." Iris said; a bit confused. Ash smiled. "Because you're not a full time trainer. You've never been to a league before." Ash bragged. Iris smirked. "Yeah, but you lost all your leagues. Why would they want a little kid anyways?" Iris jabbed at him. Ash growled.

"Hey! I've won the Orange league and the Battle Frontier. So you can't say that I haven't won ANY leagues. Besides, you're just jealous that you didn't get invited." Ash countered. He wished she would stop calling him a kid. They've been traveling for how many months, and she still thought as he was being a stupid kid? "Yeah right. You're just covering yourself because you can't admit you're not that great of a trainer." Iris said. Ash sighed. He knew he was going to get anywhere by being angry at her. Meanwhile Cilan was reading a pamphlet of the town which he found at the bus station. "Iris, you should be happy for Ash. This event is said to be a high honor for any trainer to be picked. If they win, they receive the title of champion, 3 boxes full of Pokémon food, a picture of themselves with the ceremonial clothes, and a party in their honor. And don't forget Ash, you have to show the people at the stadium your invitation in order to register." Cilan said. Ash nodded. Iris sighed. "I don't really see why I couldn't be a contestant, that's all. Plus there's something that bugs me. Why are the 'tough trainers' being called upon if their prizes are so minor? Shouldn't it just be regular trainers?" She asked. Ash smirked. "Maybe there's something more for the winner that we don't know yet." Ash said, excited. Iris sighed. "Maybe you're right. But…I still don't feel like this is a good idea. That town has bad vibes about it ever since it was built. I've never been there before, but the elder said that the people there get constant nightmares every night because of the bad vibes." She said. Ash chuckles. "Iris, your overreacting to the place. You're just jealous, that's all." Ash said. Iris groans. Ash leans against his chair and stretch. "Anyways, wake me up when we're near the village. I'm tired right now and I don't want to do anything stupid." Ash said. Iris face plants her hand as Ash falls asleep in his chair. "Sure Ash, sure." Iris said, annoyed. She sighs and looks at Cilan. "Hey, Cilan?" Iris called out. Cilan was surprised by this and looked at her. "Yeah?" He calmly asked. She looked down. "Do you honestly think this tournament is going to have 'the best of the best' like Ash hopes?" She asked. Cilan held his chin. "I doubt it. This place seems a little out of the way for the best trainers to go here, and the awards aren't too great. But on the other hand, there are sure to be tough trainers, so don't let your guard down," Cilan said, "Why did you ask anyways?"

"Well, if Ash is such a good trainer to defeat a battle frontier, then why he hasn't shown it? He makes very obvious mistakes and acts more like a kid than a skilled trainer. I just don't believe that he would get invited to such a big event as this, and sometimes I wonder why he's like that." She asked. Cilan sighed. "I don't know. But maybe you can ask him when he wakes up." Cilan suggested. Iris smiled. "Yeah." She said. Meanwhile, a few seats behind them were a couple of shifty looking people and a Meowth in disguise. They were apart of Team Rocket and right now they were in hiding. One was a man shoulder length blue hair that was tied up in a small pony tail for now, he wore big glasses that were for show, wore a blue jacket over a white shirt, had blue pants on, and black shoes. The other one was a woman with long purple red hair that was in a bun, wore similar big glasses as the man, wore a red business suite with a white shirt, a white skirt, red shoes, and a purse. And the last one was the Meowth, who wore a blue and red baseball cape, blue glasses, a green and white striped shirt, blue shorts, and blue sneakers. The cat Pokémon's whiskers were tied back so it wasn't obvious that it was actually a Pokémon in disguise. "How much longer will we be until we reach this Wako village or whatever?" The woman asked in boredom. The man looked at a map that he was reading. "About an hour or so to go." The man said. The Meowth looked tired. "You know, for such a small village, it sure takes a long time to get there. We've been on this bus for an hour and we still need to wait another one to pass." Meowth said, annoyed and bored. The woman smiled. "But it'll be worth it since we'll be able to capture the trainers' Pokémon and Pikachu." She said. James nodded. "Yes, and we have an agent who will be of great help." James said. Meowth blinked. "Really? I thought most of our agents were either captured or still in Kanto. Why is this guy here?" Meowth asked. James leaned closer so nobody could hear them. "He was assigned a mission by the boss and one of the head scientists to examine the town and the 'strange vibrations' it gave off. Apparently we want to harness those vibrations into some kind of power," James said. Jessie blinks. "Really? I guess we should help him out then. But only if he helps us." Jessie said. The others nodded. "So where is he?" Meowth asked. James becomes embarrassed. "I honestly don't know. I think he's undercover as a business man working with the locals, but that's all I know. In order to find him, we'll have to look around." James said. The others sighed. "Great." They both sarcastically said.

(Meanwhile, in Ash's Dream.)

Ash clutched his heart as he lay on the ground. He was in a pitch black arena with a strange symbol on the ground. The symbol was of a circle with an inner circle. Inside the inner circle were three smaller circles and strange symbols that Ash didn't recognized. In the area between the outer and inner circle was an eye and several weird symbols that were supposedly writing, but he couldn't understand it. Ash was breathing heavily and his eyes haft opened which allowed him to see the area and the symbol he was laying on, but also made things very blurry. He could only see a few of the symbols in the circle, but not the whole thing. His head ached and he could hear weird chanting in the air. He couldn't understand what the person was chanting, or if it was only one person or several people chanting, so he just laid on the circle in pain. He didn't even know how this happened. The last thing he remembers was being on a bus nearing Yoka Village's limits and he was going to take a nap to spend the rest of the time. How could this pain suddenly appear? Ash screams in pain. He felt fire around him. He could hear Dawn's screams of pain. Was she in the fire? Ash switched his hands from clutching his chest to his head. He wanted the pain to go away. He could see something in the distance, but his vision was so blurred that he couldn't make it out. Was it Luc, his guardian? Ash suddenly screams in pain. Something was trying to transform him. He wasn't sure how that idea popped into his head, but he accepted it as the truth. Ash gets up. He had to get out of the circle. It was probably the thing that was giving him the pain. He holds his head as he tried to walk out. **"Pathetic."** Something said. Ash stumbles down and crashes into the floor, facing the ground. He turns his head to the left and sees he was still inside the circle.

"W-who's there?" Ash weakly asked. He soon sees an army of strange blurry things that would most likely horrify him if he could properly see them. Ash was surprised by this army; however, he didn't have the energy to show it. Ash soon felt something touch his shoulder. It felt like a hand, but it didn't felt like anyone he had met. It was too strong, too gruff to be any of his friends, so maybe it was one of the adults he had met on his journey. **"Do they really think you're ready for the ceremony? No…You need to prove yourself before you are ready, and I have just the plan. I will free you from the monster in you. Let's see if you're truly ready and if you can truly face your own demons."** The voice said; it was very deep. Ash breaths heavily as he felt something on his back. "Henry…is that you?" Ash asked; his mind very foggy. He heard something chuckle. **"No."** It said. Then it dug into the boy's back. Ash screams in pain. Then he felt something crack inside of him and then pulled out. Ash screams became louder as the incident continues. Ash closed his eyes. The pain was unbearable. He hears something snap off him. He opens his eyes and he looked up. All he could see was blackness and a crystal in the darkness. The crystal was bright green and was giving off an awful smell. Ash struggled to keep looking at the strange crystal, but after a few seconds, Ash fell unconscious.

* * *

Ash woke up and looked around. To his surprise, he was in a butcher's shop. The place was covered in blood and pieces of meat. The place smelled horrible and he could see skinned corpses of Milktank, Torus, and Grumpig being held by meat hooks. Ash gulped. The place scarred him a bit since he never saw a dead Pokémon before. "So this is where they make meat. Disgusting." He heard Iris said behind him. Ash had to agree, it was disgusting. His nerves were rested a bit though knowing his friends were close by. "This is why I hardly use meat in our food and why I'm a vegetarian. It's just so horrible knowing what we do to Pokémon." Cilan said. Ash nodded. He kind of knew that a lot of meat came from Pokémon, but he never knew it was like this. 'Should I be a vegan like Cilan? ...No. Even after this, I still love hamburgers and the like. I won't change my way because of this.' Ash thought to himself. He stepped forward. "H-hello? Is….Is anyway one here?" Iris called out. Ash sighed as no one responds. "Ash, we should go. We're trespassing." Iris said. Ash smiled, he wasn't sure why but he did though. "That's all the more reason why we should search the place." Ash said. Iris sighed. Ash walked over to the counter and went behind it. Meanwhile, Iris and Cilan fallowed. Ash looks at the door that was behind the counter. He felt that there was something there, something important that he had to investigate. Something that he had to find out, but he didn't know what. Ash opens the door and goes into the next room, his friends following. However, Ash didn't notice. As they walked down the long hallway, Ash felt his heart racing. He felt…excited and sweating. What was going on with himself? They then turned right at the corner. He soon saw another door. It was an old wooden door with a strange symbol on the door which looked oddly familiar. However, Ash couldn't place his tongue on what it was. The symbol was of two layers of circles inside each other with the inner layer having three circles. There were other symbols in the hoop like border, but Ash couldn't understand it so he ignored it. Ash quickly opened the door and saw that it held a large cold area full of meats on hooks. At the end of the room was an altar of some kind, but it was hard to see what it was about from this distance.

Ash sighs in relief as he enters the room and walks towards the altar. Ash soon noticed that it had a picture of Dawn, a red book with the circle symbol on it, candles, and a knife on the Altar. Plus there were wilted flowers around it. Ash was creeped out by the altar, but soon notices that above the altar was a painting of a woman in red. It read 'Holy Mother' which somehow made Ash shiver, although he didn't know why. Ash walked up to the altar, grabbed the photo stand and looked at it. It was of Dawn when she received the trophy for the costume contest. Ash became sad since that was the event that eventually made her a target for designers and made her leave him and Brock. Ash soon noticed that it was a bit folded, indicating that there was more to the photo. Ash unhinged the photo stand, put the stand back on the altar, and then turned the photo around. It was a photo of some girl in a blue school dress. She had short dark brown hair, and she was giving off a dull look. The word 'Alessa' was on it. Mostly likely the girl's name. The name was oddly familiar to the boy, but he didn't know why. Ash sighs and puts the photo back into the photo stand. He was hoping for more. What that more was, he didn't know, but he felt there should be something more. He looked at the painting and touched it. He felt tears fall from the edges of his eyes. Why was he sad? He didn't know this woman…did he? He soon remembered a ride he went on called 'The Cave of the Holy Mother'. Ash shocked the memory away. It was just a dream; it didn't matter in the least. Besides, he could hardly remember it. But… he was scared of it, and yet he didn't know why. He turned around. Maybe Iris and Cilan could find what they were looking for.

The boy soon sees that they were looking around the edges of the room, looking around to see if there were something more to this place. Ash sighed. So far, nothing. He looked at the altar again. 'Just who made this anyways? Was it the local butcher? Why would he be in love with Dawn and this "Alessa" girl? Why is he love with two girls? And why girls? There are sure to be women he could have fallen for.' Ash thought. He was so confused. After a while, his friends came up to him. "I'm sorry Ash, but we couldn't find anything." Cilan said. Iris steps forward, Axew shivering in her arms, however, Ash didn't notice that. "We should go now before the butcher finds us. He would be very angry finding intruders in his lair." Iris said. Ash turns around and nodded, although he was more disappointed than happy to be leaving this strange place. Suddenly he felt his body shiver in fear as he sees something coming through the open door. Ash felt his heart drop. "Gu-gu-guys! I think we're too late!" Ash yelled out as the others turned around. They look at the thing in horror. Ash steps back as the creature enters the room. He looked like a very buff man who wore a butcher's outfit and blood red gloves, but he wore something odd on his head. He was wearing was clearly rusty red metal contraption on his head that strangely was shaped like a four sided pyramid. The thing on its head looked kind of like a helmet, but it didn't look conformable at all. In its right hand was a large knife shaped like a young boy's scout's pocket knife. Ash held himself. That…that design. The creature was so familiar and scary to Ash, but he couldn't remember what it was. Cilan apologetically bowed as Ash froze in fear. "We are terribly sorry, mister. My friend insisted that we enter this place without your permission and see if we could find anything the police couldn't. He said that he saw you at the scene of the crime. We hope that you aren't angry. We're just kids after all." Cilan apologetically said. The giant roared in rage. But it didn't sound human. Soon it grabbed Cilan by his tie and throws him into a wall. "CILAN!" Ash and Iris yelled at once. Iris quickly and angrily looked at the giant. "You…you monster!" Iris yelled. Axew agreed as it glared at the large creature. Ash growled. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash yelled. Pikachu nodded and jumped into the air and shoot out electricity. The thunderbolt hits the monster; however it wasn't affected by it as he walks closer to the kids. Pikachu was surprised by this as he lands the ground. The monstrous man growled and kicks the Pokémon away. Ash yells out Pikachu's name while Iris grew angrier.

"Axew, Dragon Breath!" Iris yelled out to her Pokémon. Axew jumps out of Iris's arms, builds up the dragon power, and fires a blue flame that was Dragon Breath. It hits the monster dead on, but the creature was unfazed by this. It was now a few feet from Iris as it growls at her. It grabs her by the throat as Axew falls onto her hair. The large creature soon throws her into a wall like Cilan, knocking out her and her Pokémon. Ash felt his heart stop as Iris hits the ground. How could this man…this monster be unaffected by their moves? The creature soon grabbed Ash by the front of his shirt, causing the boy to look at it. Ash froze in fear as he wondered what the creature was going to do now. The creature growled. Ash gulped. "I…I'm sorry for dragging my friends into your shop, Mister Monster. I…I saw you at the scene of the crime and assumed that you were a monster. I…I'm…I'm so sorry." Ash said, fearing for his life. The creature growled and then noticed the altar. He lets go of Ash and rushes towards it. Ash sees it pick up the photo stand as it growled. Ash saw the creature angrily turn to the boy. Ash steps back. "I'm sorry for messing with your picture. I was just curious. But…why do you have pictures of my friend?" Ash asked. The creature growled and pulled up its sword. It then quickly grabbed Ash by the throat and held him high. Ash soon realized what the creature was going to do; it was going to impale him with that knife. Not knowing what else to do, Ash began kicking the creature and the sword, but the creature was unfazed. The knife was now at Ash's level and pointed at him. Ash began to cry as the knife grew closer. 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.' Ash thought to himself as he cried. Suddenly he saw something yellow that caught his eyes. It was Pikachu charging up an attack. Mouse growled at the creature, catching it's attention. "Pika! CHU!" The Mouse Pokémon yelled as it unleashed a thunderbolt. It hits the creature, but also hits Ash as well. Ash screams in pain as electricity coursed through his body.

(Real world.)

Ash woke up in a jolt as he opened his eyes and screamed in pain. His body was coursing with electricity as Pikachu shocked him. After a while, Pikachu stopped once he noticed his buddy was wide awake. Ash sighs in relief when it ends, his body slightly smoking from the experience. Ash soon noticed that his friends were looking at him with concerned and confusion. "Ash, what just happened? You looked like you were having a nightmare." Cilan said. Ash sits up straight and frowned. "Well, yeah, I was having a nightmare, but it wasn't like the usual kind of nightmare you get when you're about to enter a competition. We were exploring this Butcher's shop for some kind of evidence, but instead I found this altar thing that had a photo of my friend Dawn on it. I don't know what it was about, but it turned out it was for nothing as you two tell me that you couldn't find anything. Then this monster came into the room and tossed Cilan to a wall after he apologized to it. Then Iris called it a monster and we attacked it with our Pokémon. But then the strangest thing happened, our moves had no effect on it. It even kicked Pikachu to the side and tossed you like a piece of paper. Then it held me up in anger. Then it noticed that I had tampered with the altar and was ready to kill me, but thankfully Pikachu used its thunderbolt and woke me up. I doubt the scene would have ended well if it had gone further." Ash said, scared. It was a bit confusing and rushed, but he had to convey it to his friends. Cilan held his chin while Iris looked at him kind of weird. Cilan soon sighed and looked at Ash. "I'm sorry Ash, but I have no idea why you would have a dream like that. Maybe the monster represents you in some way, after all, not that long ago Dawn left, so maybe you still miss her." Cilan said. Ash sighed in annoyance. "Cilan, it's okay that you don't know, but that monster can't be me. I care about you guys, and it attacked me so it can't be me…Anyways, Iris, what do you think about it?" Ash asked as he tried to change the subject.

Iris looked at him with worried eyes. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure myself. But…that dream sounds too detailed to be any normal dream." Iris commented. The group blinked. Cilan smirked. "So what is it?" Cilan asked. Iris leans forward. "It sounds like a permission." She said causing Ash to tilt his head. "A what?" Ash asked. Iris smirked. "A vision of the future." Iris clarified. Ash and Cilan looked at her in confusion. "Iris, I'm neither a physic nor can I control my body to do something similar. Why would you say it was that?" Ash asked. Iris smiled with confidence. "Well, because something that vivid isn't normally seen by people when they take a nap, especially if it's about danger. So it has to be a permission." Iris said, but then thought of another possibility. "However, based off what I know of this town, it could also mean that the town has already caused you to have bad dreams already. Maybe it made you face something that you fear, like an unbeatable foe. So maybe that's reason. After all, you're not smart enough to be a physic." Ash nodded, but then was angry. "Hey!" Ash yelled. But his anger was interrupted by an announcement. "Attention passengers, we're arriving in Yoka Village. Please wait until the bus stops to get off." The bus driver said. Ash smiled. "Alright! We're almost there!" Ash said, forgetting his anger. Iris sighs. Ash leans in his chair. He notices' his friends concerned faces. "Hey, don't worry. Everything will be alright. It was just a bad dream." Ash reassured them. Iris sighs again and leans back in her chair. "Well, I hope so." She said. Cilan nodded. After a few minutes or so, the bus stopped at the nearest bus stop and everyone got off. The group of friends soon exited the bus and looked at the town for the first time. It was big for being a village with tons of large rectangular buildings, a lot of street lamps, greenery that was scarce but had the right amount to not make the place look scary, and streamers and balloons all over the place. To say it was beautiful was kind of an understatement. Ash smiled widely in excitement as he looked around. Meanwhile Cilan got a local map that was on a board of the town. "THIS IS AMAZING!" Ash said in joy, causing Iris to nod. The place did have a nice charm to it. Cilan smiled. "We're in the commercial district of the town. The Pokémon center is a few miles from here near the stadium." Cilan said. Ash giggles. However, Iris began shivering. Cilan notices this. "Iris, are you okay?" Cilan asked. She looks at him with annoyance. "It's the vibes, Cilan. They're worse than I imagined. They're literally making me shiver in fear." She said, her voice a bit shaky, but not too noticeable. Ash turned to her.

"Really? It doesn't look like it should give you that feeling." Ash said. Iris holds herself and calms down. After a while, she was calm and collected. "I'm fine now, but you can't judge a town by its looks. It may look beautiful now, but there's something about this town that is terribly wrong." She said. Ash tilted his head. "If this place does have wrong, why didn't you notice the feeling when other places were wrong?" Ash asked. Iris began to sweat as she looked away. "Well, I did, but they weren't 'wrong' enough for me to really feel the effects. This town, however, is completely covered in the bad vibes." Iris said. Cilan chuckles. "Oh Iris, you're just not giving the town a break, you're probably just cold that's all." Cilan said. Iris face palms herself. Ash also felt the same eager to do so, but decided not. "Cilan, if it's really THAT cold, then why isn't anyone else feeling the effect?" Iris asked as she looks at the other people who were still leaving the bus. This ketches Cilan off guard. Ash looked at his friend in annoyance. "You know you should just accept it whenever Iris gets a feeling. Trying to prove her wrong usually only gets you humiliated." Ash said in a deadpanned voice. Cilan sighed. "Alright, but that doesn't mean the town is bad. You should really give it at least a chance to prove you right." Cilan said. Iris sighs. "Yeah, you're right." She said. Ash smiles. "Good, now let's head to the Pokémon center and get me signed up." Ash said in joy as he began to move. Iris face palms herself as Cilan sweats. "Um….Ash, you have to sign at the stadium, not the Pokémon center. Besides, you're going the wrong way." Cilan said. Ash stops and blushes. He quickly turns around. "I-I knew that. I just wanted to explore the town. That's all." Ash lied. His friends sighed. It was very obvious that he was lying. "Well, it won't hurt going this way. It leads to some of the shops around here and we need to refill our camping supplies anyways." Cilan said. Ash smiled. "Besides, we have plenty of time to register." Ash said. Iris and Cilan nodded. They soon began walking. After sometime, they reached a large shop full of medicine, food, and other convenient things.

"Ash, why don't you stay out here? You'd probably be bored by this." Cilan said. Ash sighed. Ash noticed that Iris went into the store with him. 'Why do they always leave me behind when they go shopping? What do they not trust me with money?' Ash wondered. Ash growled. He got up. "If they don't want me around, then fine. We're going to look around without them." Ash said to his buddy. Pikachu sighed in disappointment. Ash soon began walking around. He wasn't sure where to go, but he kept walking none the less. After a while, he stopped and noticed that this part of town was covered in posters. They weren't about the tournament, but about some people. Ash decided to look at one. It showed a young man, about 30 years old with smooth dark blonde hair that covered his eyes, a hooked nose, and he wore a green business suit. It said, "For a better tomorrow, for a brighter and freer town, vote for Eddie Jackal." Ash noticed that quite a few of the people were looking at similar looking posters. Soon two strangers walk up to the poster he was looking at. "'Eddie Jackal'. Never heard of this guy. Just who's this guy?" One person, a man, asked. Ash turned to them as a woman shrugged. "I don't know. I think he's new. I heard he just entered the mayoral race about an hour or so ago." The other person, the woman, replied. Ash blinked. That's strange. The man holds his chin. "How did he get so many posters up if he's new? And why did he just join now?" He asked. The woman sighed. "I'm not sure. But I saw many Bug Pokémon holding the posters before they went on the wall, so maybe that's the reason." The woman said. The man nodded. "Yeah, I saw the bugs too. I didn't know you could coordinate that many bugs to do that. He must be smart if he could do it." The man said. The woman nodded. "But…should he win? I mean, that's an impressive act, but we hardly know anything about the guy. How could he be any good?" The woman asked. The man folded his arms. "I don't know. But you never know. He could be a nice guy." He said. The woman nodded. Ash looked at them closer and noticed that they were very close to each other. They kind of looked like a couple by the way they held themselves. Ash felt himself get a bit jealous.

Ash shocked the feeling away and decided to look at the other posters. The next one he looked at was on a wall about a few feet from where he was standing, it showed an older looking man in his late 50's or so who had a white beard and wore blue suit. The slogan said, "To make Yoka a strong village, you need a strong, dependable leader who can make this town a cleaner place. Vote for Markham Denver to make this town a cleaner and friendlier place." Ash smiled. This man looked a lot nicer than that Eddie guy, but he didn't trust him either. He had an odd look in his eyes. Suddenly he heard a voice. "So, you're here too." It said. Ash growled. He recognized the voice. Ash turned and saw that it was Trip. He was smirking as usual. Ash nodded. "I guess even losers like you can get invited." Trip said. Ash sighed. 'At least with the tournament, I can finally show Trip how much stronger I've become.' Ash thought as he tried to not punch boy in the face. "So, where are your friends?" Trip asked. Ash sighed. "They're shopping. They told me that I could look around, so that's what I'm doing." Ash said. Ash looked at the poster. "I was actually looking at the posters right now before YOU arrived to bother me. It seems like there's an election going on." Ash said. Trip nodded. "Yeah, I had just registered an hour ago and they told me all about it. Apparently, since there aren't a lot of villagers, the town let trainers like us vote for the next mayor. I think it's kind of stupid since trainers don't know anything about the town and probably won't care who the next mayor would be. But we can't refuse. It's forced upon us when Election Day comes, which is a few days from now during the last day of the tournament." Trip said. Ash sighed. 'Well, at least I was getting ready for that, even if I didn't mean to.' Ash thought. "By the way, I heard from some strangers that a new guy named Eddie Jackal has become a contestant in the tournament and in the Election. I even heard that he got his Bug Pokémon to post his posters all over town." Trip said. Ash looked at him. "Yeah. I saw one of the posters and heard about the bug thing too. Apparently it happened only an hour ago." Ash said. Trip held his chin. "Well that's weird." Trip said. Ash nodded. "I wonder how he even got this far. No one even knows who he is. Not even the locals." Ash said. Trip was intrigued by this. "It's like he just appeared." Trip said. Ash and Trip soon laughed. "Just appeared. That's a good one. He's clearly real. Hey, since he's a contestant, if we ever see him, why don't we ask him about this?" Ash said. Trip nodded.

"Well, see you in the tournament. But I doubt you'll get far." Trip said; then began leaving. Ash growled. 'You jerk. You just couldn't let this end on a good note, now could you?' Ash thought. Ash sighed and looked at another poster. It was about Eddie, but he was in a different pose and the slogan was different. Eddie was now looking to his left and was facing sideways. He held a Pokeball and looked like he was ready for battle. "If anyone knows what Trainers want, it's a trainer. Chose a trainer to be your guide and vote for Eddie Jackal." It said. Ash sighed and looked at another one. It showed a different person. It was of a red haired man with dark brown eyes, and he wore a red suit. He looked kind of threatening. "Yoka Village is a wonderful village as it is. It doesn't need any change. Can you trust the change the competition sells? Who says that this place needs to be changed anyways? Vote for John Perlis so Yoka stays the way it is." The poster said. Ash soon looked at 4 more posters, but quickly saw that the only people being advertised were the three people he already saw. After noticing that, he decided to go back to the convenient store. 'Hopefully, Iris and Cilan won't be too mad at me. At least I learned more about the tournament and this election thing.' Ash thought as he walked back. He was mostly interested in Eddie since he was also going to in the Pokémon competition. There was also something…familiar about Eddie that Ash noticed, but he couldn't tell what it was. After a while, he reached the store and saw his friends were very angry. "Ash, there you are! Where were you?" Iris yelled; she was very angry. Ash sheepishly smiled. "Well, I decided to look around so I wouldn't get bored, but I accidently took too much time. Sorry." Ash said as he blushed. Iris sighed in frustration. "Fine, but don't do it again. We were very worried." Iris said, surprising Ash. Ash nodded. "Okay." He said. This caused Cilan and Iris to smile. "So, what did you find out?" Cilan asked. Ash genuinely smiled. "Well, I learned that there's an Election going on that all competitors have to take apart of. We have three choices, and one of the men is actually a Pokémon trainer who is also in the tournament. Apparently there aren't a lot of villagers here." Ash said. The two nodded. "Yeah, we heard about that too. And apparently the trainer candidate used Bug Pokémon to get his poster up." Iris said. Ash nodded. "Yeah, I heard about that too. But that's not the only thing. I met Trip earlier and he told me a lot about what I learned." Ash said. Iris blinked in surprise as she registers this. "Really? Well, I guess it's not that much of a surprise that he would be here too. He is a strong trainer" Cilan said. Ash nodded. "Yeah and this time I'm going to beat him. Anyways, why don't we go to the Stadium? I want to get registered already." Ash said. His friends nodded and they walked northwest.

(About an hour ago, in another part of town.)

A man with dark grey hair walked in a souvenir shop that was far from the other shops on the street. He was here to talk with a woman he's been in contact with for about 3 months and Perlis. He walked down the stairs and enter the shop. He sees her and Mr. Perlis sitting at a table. This was the second time the grey haired man had actually meet the woman, and he couldn't help but blush at her beauty. She had long blue hair, wore a white maiden outfit with red formal pants that were pretty big, and she wore a vial that covered her face. The sits down next to the financier and the woman smiled as she began to chant. "I sense the executioner's presence. He has finally returned home." She said, very happy. She was holding a crystal ball in her hands. She was known to be the local fortuneteller, but many of the local villagers who didn't know of the cult thought she was crazy. The grey haired man smiled. "You're welcome." He said. She turned to him. "Yes, thank you so much. Now that Xuchilbara is home, this town and our organization can finally be free to do its work." She said. Perlis smiled. "Yes, and with him here, we can finally get Alessa and make her 'resurrect' god." Perlis said, although he didn't seem interested in the last part. The woman soon began 'praying' in a langue that the men couldn't understand. It was a spell that would make the boy to truly become Xuchilbara. It was just the first step in their plans, but it was an important one. The crystal ball became blood red and showed Ash Ketchum falling asleep, although due to the red, it was hard to tell what was happening. After a while, she finished the spell and the crystal ball showed the symbol of The Order on top of the boy's image. She began panting once she was done. It must have taken a lot of energy to do that. She soon smiled as she looked at the crystal ball. "Yes, it worked. He's ours." She said. The grey hair man smiled. "I guess stage one is done. Now to 'brand' him with the seal so the transformation can begin." The grey haired man said, although he wasn't planning on letting them do that. He had other plans for the boy. He just wasn't going to tell her or her fellow cult members since he might still need them. She nodded as she looked at the man. "Yes. The boy will become his true self soon. His mind is now marked; all's that's left is his body." She said, she then giggled. "Soon our lord will tell us who are the traitors and sinners of the lord." She smiled widely, although the men couldn't see it. Perlis gulped. But it wasn't noticeable to the woman.

However, when she looked at the crystal ball again, she gasped in shock. "Oh no, he's…he's splitting his soul into an aberration. He doesn't want to become his true self…but…but why? Does he not want to birth our lord or is there a traitor in our group that's too dangerous for him to face as his true self?" She asked, terrified. Perlis was angrier than scared now. The mysterious man smiled. "Don't worry, he's just scared. He doesn't want to be the executioner because he'll have to be ordered around. He's kind of stubborn like that. But it doesn't matter that his mind is two, he's already branded, and he cannot escape his fate. Whatever he does, it doesn't matter. He's already ours. Although, he love for those 'creatures' makes things awkward." The man said. She hissed. "Yes. But…you haven't explained to us HOW he fell for those…monsters," She said. The mysterious man sighed. "He does not remember the lord's work or that the 'creatures' are unholy. He still thinks 'Arceus' is the true god." The man said, although he didn't think that what he was saying was correct since he didn't believe in the woman's religion. The woman growled. "That's terrible that Xuchilbara has fallen for the Devil's lies! We must remind him of the true god!" She said. The man shocked his head no. "No. If any of you came up to him and tried to remind him of 'god', he'll just think that you're crazy. But if I go talk to the boy and lie about his other haft, then he'll be on our side. You and your group go after the aberration. Perlis and I will…get things underway for the resurrection of Xuchilbara. Hopefully I won't be needed to tame it." The man said. She nodded. "But if you are, I'll call you. Oh, and keep a good eye on your boy. We don't want him to get hurt." She said. The man nodded and then he and Perlis walked away.

Once they were out of the shop, they went into a dark alley. "So, what are we going to do? This is going to ruin everything." Perlis angrily said. The mysterious man smiled. "Don't worry. We can still use Edward as a pawn and as your secret weapon. You don't need the real half. You just need Edward." The mysterious man said. Perlis sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter; I'm going to drown my pain at the bar. If anything happens, find me. And if you capture Edward, take him to me. I will have my weapon, and eventually I will have my powers. Then nothing will stop me from getting what I want." Perlis said, and then smiled. He soon walked off. The mysterious man sighed once the man was out of sight. "Oh how I hate working for you, Perlis, but you are the only thing that will keep Edward and Ash away from the cult. If he's ever going to learn to be Dark, it's through this." The man said to a strange looking shadow. It moved a little bit. "I just hope we don't accidently loose the boy or Edward to the Cultists. If we do, then I'm sure this town is doom." A voice said from the shadows. The mysterious man sighed. "I know Darkrai, but if that happens, we can't object. They can't learn our alternative motives." The man said. The shadow moved like a nod. "Well, I'd better go to Ash, I don't want Perlis to get to him first and learn that he's the real version of Edward. If he does, he might try to take control of him and give up on finding the Empress." The mysterious man said. The shadow nodded. "I'm just glad he can't use his machine on aberrations, otherwise he would mostly likely use it on Edward." The shadow said. The mysterious man nodded. "Now, let's get going." The man said. The shadow nodded.


	3. Chapter 2

ch. 2

After an hour or two of walking and after a few turns, the group was finally near the stadium. It was in a large area that was shaped like a rectangle and to the west of the building was the Pokémon center. The stadium was round with small windows on the upper levels and a few monitors in the middle sections. "This is the Silent Colosseum. This is where the Red Sun competition will take place." Cilan said. Ash smiles and rushes towards the stadium. However, the door suddenly opened and he soon smashes into someone. Ash rubs his head as he and the other person sat on the ground. Ash opened his eyes and his eyes widen. "Misty?" Ash said in confusion. Misty was a young woman with short orange hair in a sideways ponytail. She wore an orange mid-shirt held by red suspenders, blue shorts, and black and red tennis shoes. She opened her blue eyes and sees the boy. "Ash?" She said. Ash smiled. "Yeah, that's me. Oh man, Misty, it's been so long since we last met. I think I last saw you before I went to Unova. How'd you've been?" Ash said, remembering her last visit. She blushed. "Fine, I've been doing great at the gym and my sisters have been giving me a bit more free time since we last met. In fact, I'm taking part of the tournament. Tracy is with me, but he's staying at the local Pokémon center right now." She said. Ash smiled, but he felt a bit of jealousy in his mind. Thankfully, it was small so he could easily ignore. "Really? Aw man, that's great! In fact, I'm taking part of the battle as well. That means we may meet each other as opponents again and finally have a real battle." Ash said. Misty smiled. "Yeah, that's great. Hey, why don't we go to the lake? I heard it has a great view." She said, although she looked a bit nervous. Ash noticed this. "Um…Misty, are you okay? You look…scared. Besides, I have to register before I forget. I don't want to forget THAT." Ash asked. Misty sighed. "Sorry for that, Ash, it's just…I met this strange guy named Eddie Jackal, who's apparently one of the mayoral competitors, and he was hitting on me. He seemed to really like me, but I don't like him. He's such a creep." She said. Ash puts a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Misty; I'll make sure he doesn't get near you. But first, let's get me registered." Ash said. Misty nodded, and the group entered the round Colosseum.

Once inside, Ash looked around. The room was fairly large but empty in the middle. On the right side of the wall were three desks for trainers to get registered; each had a man as the person to register the trainers. In front of the group, there was a large door with two guards blocking it, which was probably where the entrance to the arena was. To the left were tables and benches for people waiting for the trainers to finish up registering. And the last thing in the room they noticed was a stair case to the left which lead to the higher levels. Ash got in line and after a long wait, he finally got registered. Once he was done, he walked over to his friends who had taken a seat at a bench. Iris and Misty were talking about their experiences with Ash and how much he changed, or rather not changed, and Cilan was checking the map. Ash held his chest as he overheard them. He wished that he was at least a bit more caring and nice to the girls so they wouldn't say that he hadn't changed, but he didn't feel like it would make a difference. In their eyes, he was still a kid, and no change will ever change that. Misty soon notices Ash. "Oh, hey Ash. I see that you're done registering." Misty said. Ash nodded. "Yeah. Now, let's go to the lake." Ash said. He soon heard chuckling. "Leaving so soon?" A voice asked. Misty gasped in fear. Ash turned around to see what was behind him. His body shivered in fear as he felt his heart stop. 'N-no. It's…It's impossible. How can he be real?' Ash thought as terror coursed through his body. The man had shaggy, shoulder length, blonde hair with black sideburns. He wore a white shirt, green business suite, green tie, black shoes, and black skinny pants. He had emerald green eyes, a hooked nose, his skin was pasty white, and he had what looked like razor sharp teeth. He bowed. "Hello, miss Misty. I see that you have friends with you now." The man said. Ash and Misty felt their spins shiver. "Hello, Mr. Jackal. I see that you're still here. Why?" She asked. He smiled. "Oh, I was just seeing the competition. That's all….hmm. This boy. He looks….familiar. But….I can't place my finger as to how I know him." The man said as he tapped his forearms and looked at Ash. Ash shivered. The man chuckles.

"What's the matter? You scared of me?" He asked. Ash gulped. "W-what? No way. There's no way I'd be scared of you." Ash said. The man chuckles. "Well, I'll eventually meet with you again, Ash. But next time, it'll be a battle." The man said. Ash shivered. "How do you know my name?" Ash asked. The man froze then held his chin. "Maybe I saw it on the board of contestants. I'm not just a mayoral candidate, remember." The man said with a smile. Ash tilted his head. "How did you do that anyways without anyone knowing who you are?" Cilan asked. Eddie looked at the green haired teen. "Well, it was hard. I kind of had to bully my way in, but I just couldn't let this town be 'ruined' by those other contestants. They're just not right in the head or the heart." Eddie said. The group glared at him. "And you are?" Misty jabbed at him. Eddie frowned. He looked away. He soon smiled. "Oh course. Besides, I don't really care about the election. All I want is to be the champion of this town. But in order to do that I have to have total control, and what's more controlling than being the mayor and this year's champion?" The man said. Ash smiled as he stepped forward. "Well, don't get your hopes up, because I'm going to win it." Ash said with confidence. The man looks at Ash and chuckles. "Oh, this one has a fire in him. Oh I'd love to see you try. Hopefully our battle will be worth it." He said. Ash nodded. "Now, I'd better get going. Have to convince the voters and such." The man said, then began walking away. Once he was out of sight, Ash fell the ground and sighed in relief. Misty rushes over to him. "Ash, are you okay?" She asked in worry as the others look at their friend with caution. Ash nodded as he held his head. "Y-yeah. It's just….that man. There's something wrong with him." Ash said. The group nodded with him. "You're right. There is something is wrong with him. I doubt he'll win the election though. He doesn't seem like someone who gets along with others." Iris said. Ash nodded.

"Anyways, let's go to the lake already. Before he comes back and bothers us." Misty said. The group soon got up and left the area as they walked to the lake side of town. After a few hours of walking, they arrived at the Port side of town as the area became less crowded and more spacious. Ash smiles at they reached a little restaurant named Annie's Bar. "Wow, a bar. Maybe we should check it out." Misty said. Ash, however, had a bad feeling about it. Ash shocked the feeling away and they entered the restaurant. As they entered, Ash looked around. He could see the bar had a bar table at the entrance with many stools, a couple of regular tables to the left, and a large pool table near the tables. Ash could see some tough looking guys playing pool and at one of the tables was a man in a red business suite. He was drinking something, but Ash couldn't recognize what it was. 'Is that Perlis? …Yeah, I think he is. What is he drinking? Probably something that only adults drink.' Ash rationalized in his head. He had heard of drinks that only Adults drank so he realized the drink was one of those. Ash shooked the idea away since it wasn't important and he and his friends each took a stool and asked for some soda. Ash and Iris asked for fish to eat while Misty and Cilan asked for salads. As they ordered, Team Rocket took a table and sat down. They had been sneak-fully hiding from the group, but they didn't bother entering the Colosseum since they felt it was too much of a risk. Jessie sighs as she looks at the twerps. "Hopefully the original twerpette won't recognize us," Jessie whispered to James. He nodded. "I'm still surprised that she came back. It's been quite a long time since we last saw her," James whispered. Jessie nodded, meanwhile, Meowth sighed. "First the blue haired Twerpette and now the original, I hope we don't see a trend and see the brown haired twerpette next," Meowth said. Jessie nodded. She looked at the other table. "Hey, isn't that the agent we've been looking for?" She asked. James turned to the table and nodded. "Yeah, that's him. Whoa, he looks like a wreck. I bet something bad happened," James said; kind of disappointed. Meowth stands up. "Well, we better help him out. We can't let whatever happened to get him down. Besides, he probably has a plan on catching Pikachu," Meowth said. James and Jessie nodded. Suddenly the bar doors opened, and they noticed another familiar face. They look at him with shock. "Hey isn't that the Darkrai user!" James said with shock. Jessie nodded. "Yeah! The one from the Sinnoh Championship league!" Jessie said with equal shock.

"What's he doing here?!" Meowth yelled, which ketches Ash's and his friend's attention. Ash turned and then smiled. "Tobias. Oh man, I can't believe it's you!" Ash said with excitement. His friends turned and looked at the man. He had long grey hair that covered his left eye, he wore a long red cloak over black clothes, and he wore thick boots. "Hey, you're the Sinnoh league champion. What are you doing here?" Cilan asked. The man smiled. Perlis looked up and smiled as well. "Why yes. I am the champion. As for why I'm here, I was invited. I see that you were invited as well, Mr. Ketchum." Tobias said. Ash smiled. "Yeah, and I'm going to win it. I won't lose to you again." Ash said. The man chuckled. "Good. However, I'm not taking part of the league this time. I've been very busy with the local religion of the town. It's quite fascinating and I believe it will help me become stronger." He said. Ash was amazed by this. "Wow. How is it going to do that?" Ash asked. The man smirked. "Well, I can't really tell. They haven't told me…but… they've been having problems." Tobias said. Misty tilted her head. "What kind of problems?" Misty asked. Tobias looked around then leaned forward. Team rocket quickly scooched forward in their seats so they could ease drop on the conversation. "There's a monster in the town that is disrupting everything. It was created about an hour and a haft ago by someone with a heart of darkness." Tobias said. Everyone was shocked by this. Even Perlis was shocked, but it was mostly due to his drunkenness. "A-A monster? What is it and how could it just be created just like that?" Iris asked. The man looked down. "This monster is beyond anything you've know. It is a killer and hunts down anyone who gets in its way. It's indestructible and can only be stopped by its creator. As for how it was created, during the local church's yearly ritual to bring peace to the town, a man came into the room and took all of the power. Now he's as powerful as a god and created that monster as a body guard. The only way to stop him is to get him with something that he wasn't expecting. But we don't know what," Tobias said. Ash smiled. "Don't worry; I'll deal with this monster of a man. So…who is he?" Ash asked. Tobias looked away. "I can't tell you. You can't handle it. Besides, I've got Darkrai and Latios with me. They can handle this," The man said. Ash was disappointed and angry by this. "Why are you telling us this anyways? Why isn't it on the news?" Iris asked. Tobias sighed.

"We can't have the visitors panicking about the problem. If they learn about this monster and the man who controls it, they'll leave and never come back. We can't have that happen. As for why I'm telling you, well, I fear that this man is after you guys." Tobias said. Everyone's eyes shrank. "What? Why? Why is he after us?" Ash asked, scared. Tobias looked down. "I don't know. But he keeps being near the areas you are, especially, you, Miss Waterflower." Tobias said. Misty froze. "Just be careful and try not to interact with any strange people. That's the best way for you to avoid him." Tobias said. He soon got up and walked to the door. He turned to the group. "I better get going. He's near, I know it. But don't worry, I'll deal with him." Tobias said, and then he left the bar. Ash and his friends look at him with shock. They then looked at each other with worry. Team Rocket was equally as shocked, but had to pull up some large menus so Ash's group wouldn't notice them. Iris was the first to speak. "I don't believe it. I can't imagine that a person could be able to do such things like creating Pokémon. Even with the idea of the supernatural, it's just impossible." Iris said. Cilan nodded. "Yeah," Cilan said. Ash looked down. 'I don't believe it either. How has this monster not been found already? He couldn't be hiding too much if he's super powerful. And how can he do that anyways? Who is he? ...M…maybe it's…no it couldn't be…but it makes sense. YES! IT IS HIM!' Ash growled as he thought. "But who could this mysterious man be?" Iris asked. Ash smiled. "I think it's obvious. Eddie." Ash said. Everyone else gasped at this. Ash blinked in confusion. "What? It's the most logical. How else could he suddenly gain so much power over the town if he had just arrived not that long ago? Besides, he bragged that he bullied the people in charged to get him into the mayoral competition. He was basically saying that he has the power," Ash said. He then looked at Misty. "Plus, you said that he was attracted to you. I don't know why he's after us, but at least we know why he's after you the most," Ash said.

Misty sighed. "Yeah, that does sound logical. Plus nobody seems to know him. If that loser can somehow become a mayoral candidate in an hour or so after he arrived in a village, then there's trickery upon us." Misty said. Ash nodded. "So, what should we do?" Cilan asked. Ash got off his seat. "I'd say I battle him and stop him before he does anything bad." Ash said. The group frowned about this. Iris stands up and faces Ash. "Ash, calm down. I know you want to bring him to justice, but Tobias has it covered. Besides, he looks like a much more confident trainer than you'll ever be." Iris said as she began to laugh. Ash growled and slammed the table. This stops Iris's laughing as she stared into Ash's enraged eyes. She sunk back in fear. Ash quickly notices this and steps back. "I-I'm sorry, Iris. I didn't mean to make you fearful. I was just tired of you picking on me. That's all." Ash said as he looked away. Iris looks down as she sat down. "No, it was my fault. I know I've been picking on you a lot during our adventure, and I'm sorry. But I can't help it. You're just a kid in my eyes, and while you were pretty good at facing against Team Rocket, I fear this is too much even for you. That's why I said that." Iris apologized. Ash sighed and looked down. He wanted to yell at her for still seeing him as a kid, but she was kind of right on this one. He had never dealt with someone who had a 'killer' Pokémon. He never really dealt with someone with this much power. He sighed. "I…I understand, and it's okay. Eddie is a monster and could hurt my Pokémon. So I won't go after Tobias and try to help him." Ash said. His friends smiled. Ash sighed as he sits down. As he sat down, the waiter finally returned with their food and drinks. Ash was annoyed that it took him so long, but he only sighed and began to eat his troubles away. He ignored his friends talking as they try to change the subject to more recent things like the tournament. However, Ash still felt like he should be going out there and dealing with Eddie, even if his mind was telling him that he shouldn't worry about it.

Once he was done eating, he ordered another plate of fish. He had to admit that the fish was tasty. He looked at Misty and sighed. She notices this and his glum face. "Ash, is something wrong?" She asked. Ash looked down. "Well…I can't seem to get my mind off that Eddie guy. I've been trying to ignore thoughts about him, but I feel like I should do something. I…I just can't believe he's out there, hurting anyone that's in his way," Ash said, feeling lost. Misty touched his shoulder which caused him to look at her. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Hey, why don't we talk about something else?" She said to Ash, then turned to the others. Ash and the others nodded. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Ash asked as he straightens up. Misty looked up as she tried to think about a topic. "Hmmm…" She let out. After a while, she smiled. "What about your father? I don't think you ever talked about him when we were traveling together." Misty said. The others nodded. "Yeah, that's sounds like an interesting topic. You never talked about it with us either, so we'd like to know too." Cilan said. Ash looked shocked. "O-oh, m-my father? Y-yeah. He…he was a great man. He travels around the world on his Pokémon journey and …and… he's…he's cool… He's a trainer, a good one...and …um…" Ash said as he tried to think of what to say. Misty sighs. "You don't know anything about your father, do you?" Misty asked. Suddenly everything became silent. Ash held himself like he was hit by a sledgehammer. Ash looked at her. "W-what? Of course not! I…I know lots of things about my father." Ash said; his voice terrified. Misty smirked. "Alright, then tell what he looks like." Misty said. Ash froze. He had never seen his father before. In fact, he never saw a picture of his father. "He…um…has…brown hair…I think." Ash said as he tried to think of something. The group knew that Ash was lying again. "You've never saw your father." Iris coldly said. Ash looked down. He held himself. Pikachu felt sorry for the boy. "Ye…yes….I don't remember what his face looks like or what he likes and dislikes… I…I've never even seen a picture of him. Mom said that he went on his trip when I was very little and that he's a Pokémon trainer, but I've never seem to find him in any of the Pokémon tournaments, nor have I ever seen his last name in the national Pokémon league database. It's like he's dead or something. But mom says that he is alive, it's just that he's not that great of a trainer." Ash said.

"Wow that sounds really bad. I barely remember my parents, but the chief said that they were good people and that they loved me when they were alive, but your dad sounds like a deadbeat. A man who gives up his son when he has the possibility doesn't sound like a responsible parent. I'm kind of glad he wasn't around. Who knows if he would have been a good parent? If he's not good a Pokémon battles, then how good could he be as a parent?" Iris asked. Ash growled as his hair spiked up. Misty was surprised and a bit weirded out by this. Ash snarled at her. "HOW DO YOU KNOW!? YOU'VE NEVER MET HIM! HE COULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT FATHER! HE'S JUST BUSY!" Ash yelled; his eyes became cold and viscous. Misty shivered at them. They reminded her of Eddie's. He holds himself. "But he was never there. He was never there for us. It was just mom and us. I was so alone. So alone." Ash whispers as he breaks down. His body was now shivering as he tried to hold back the tears. The group and Pikachu didn't like this one bit. Suddenly Ash rushes out of the restaurant. Misty gets up and began walking after him. She decided to walk since she wanted to give him some time to cool down. Back with Ash, he ran and ran until he was at the edge of the dock. He soon collapse and began crying. He covered his face so no one would see. Ash wailed as the pain he locked inside his heart was released. He wanted the pain to stop. He wanted to feel the warmth of a family member hugging him. Someone to tell him that they loved him, that he wasn't a mistake. That he wasn't an accident. He wasn't sure exactly why these feelings were worded like that, but he didn't care at this point. Pikachu was scared to talk now. He couldn't do anything, for he feared his friend would lash out at him as well. Ash soon looked at his reflection. He saw a sad little boy who had just been handed an unpleasant truth. It had always been something he tried to avoid. Ignore. Change the subject whenever someone asked. He had never really confronted it before since he had never known his father. The worst of it was…there was NOTHING to go by. May and Brock knew who their fathers were, although they were somewhat distant, and Dawn lost her father when she was young. Him, he had nothing…no face, no name, just mom's claims that he was going on the same route his father had, and that she loved him. He had never really asked his mother, and when he did, she never told him much. He had never really thought about it, and when he did, it was always a nightmare.

Ash closed his eyes to try and stop the pain. He just wished that there was something he knew about his father. Just a sign of why he had to go away and where was he. Why wasn't he around? Why didn't he call them? Ash opened his eyes and growled. He saw Eddie in his reflection. Ash soon began to punch the water. "STUPID! DISGUSTING! EVIL! MALICIOUS! VEMONIUS! MONSTER! YOU'RE THE REASON HE'S NOT HERE! YOU'RE THE REASON MOM IS ALONE! YOU'RE THE REASON PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF GETTING CLOSE!" Ash yelled as he punched the water. For each word he yelled out, he punched the water. Ash soon stops when he wasn't feeling any difference in his anger. He looked at the water and sees himself. "I'm…I'm the reason." Ash said. Ash soon began crying again. Misty sees this and stands on the pier a few feet away from him. What should she do? If she got close, she knew he would become violent and hate filled. She even feared that he would punch her. Misty shocked her head. No, Ash wasn't like that. While Ash had a pretty mean tempura like herself, it wasn't THAT bad. He would never hurt her even if he was enraged. But even so, she was afraid that he would act like that. However, if she just stood there, nothing would be solved. Ash would go numb to his feelings and would try to forget everything she and his friends asked. He probably would also become a wreck again if someone tried to get answers about his father and it would become a cycle. She felt so guilty for making her friend feel this way. 'But how was I supposed to know that this subject was that touchy? He never really talked about it or the fact that he didn't like talking about it. Maybe if he gave me a clue that he didn't like talking about this, maybe he wouldn't be in so much pain.' Misty thought then sighed. She then noticed that Ash was starting to quiet down. She smiled, this was her chance to apologize for her mistake. She walked up to him, however, he didn't even notice her as he mumbles to himself. "Monster. I'm a monster. That's all I am. I can never change. That's why he left me. That's why they hate me." He said. She knelled next to him and sighs. She felt so sorry for him.

"Ash," She said as calmly as she could. He looked at her. His eyes red from all the crying. He looked so miserable. His eyes soon became vicious liked she feared. He growled. "Ash, I'm sorry about bringing up bad memories. I…I didn't know that you were so sensitive about the subject since you didn't really talk about it. But I should have stopped Iris. I knew that what she was saying was hurtful, but…I didn't since it was way too plausible. Maybe that's why your mom never talked about him. Maybe she knew how much of a monster he was." Misty said. Ash held himself. "No. Mom…mom said he was the nicest man she ever met. That she would never marry a monster. That she loved him and wished he was here with us. But…but he was never there. Never there because of me…because I'm a monster." Ash said. His voice sounded 'off' and it scared her. "Ash, it's okay. I believe you about him being nice. But…why are you beating yourself up? And why do you use the word 'us' instead of 'I' or 'me'?" Misty asked. Ash looked at the water. Ash sighed. "My mind…It's…it's a strange thing. I dream of a brother who I never had to try and fill the gap dad left me, and since he's in my head I accidentally think that he's real. And since he's my 'brother', I use the word 'us' to speak for both of us." Ash said. Misty was surprised by this. "Wow. I never knew that. Did you tell Brock?" Misty asked. Ash smiled. "Yeah, back when I was doing the battle frontier, I also told May, and Max. But I haven't told anyone else but you." Ash said. Misty sighed. "Why don't we go back to the others? They're very worried about you." Misty said. Ash looked down into the water. He clutched his hands. He wanted to stay here; he wanted to be away from everyone so he wouldn't hurt them. He sees himself and sighs. 'I can't keep beating myself up for Eddie's actions, I'm not him and he isn't me. Nor should I blame dad for what he has done. He probably didn't want to go but couldn't resist the erg of the league. He wanted to be the very best and make her happy. I have that erg as well, which was why I left Pallet town. He loves mom but had to go on his journey. Besides, I have a tournament to win.' Ash thought as he tried to calm himself. The tournament was the only thing that made him happy.

Ash gets up and they walked back to the bar. Once inside, they saw Iris and Cilan looking at them. Iris was standing. She bowed. "Ash, I'm sorry for being so mean. I was just saying a possibility. I don't know if it's true and I shouldn't have acted like it was. Please forgive me." Iris said. Ash smiled. "I-it's okay. I forgive you. I…I just didn't want to admit that possibility was plausible. My mom always said that my dad was a great man who she cared about and loves deeply. To learn that he was or became a monster would break her heart and mine." Ash said; a bit scared. Iris looked down. "Well, we don't know. So who knows what he's like, he may even be a really great guy." Iris said. Ash smiled. 'Yeah. I hope so.' Ash thought as he touched his heart. He soon noticed that there was some food on the table. "Oh yeah. I had ordered some more fish and you ordered more salad." Ash said to Misty. Misty nodded. "Why don't we finish up eating, and then we go to the lake." Misty said. Ash nodded. He hadn't really looked at it while he was sulking. He soon sat down along with his friends and they began finishing up their meals.

(Meanwhile, near a motel.)

Tobias looked at a woman with long white hair in a bun as he walked into the apartment room they were sharing. She had brown eyes, white skin, no eyebrows, and wore a long white dress. She knew about what was really going on since she was a part of the same group the fortuneteller was a part of, so Tobias trusted her enough to share information with her. "Did you meet the executioner? Is he here?" She asked. The man nodded. "Yes, he is. I met him about a few minutes ago. I told him the lie, but I fear that his monster will ruin everything. However, that's not my biggest fear...Do you honestly think he'll be okay? Can we really trust him to not make more monsters?" Tobias asked. The woman sighed. "Yes. The executioner will be alright, but that monster is more troublesome than we've realized. His mind is poisonous and he may try to poison his creator's mind. These two things could make things ugly for our future. But that monster can't create, he can only destroy." She said. Tobias was not pleased as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know that, but I'm more worried about Ash. If he creates more monsters, they may become hostile like the first one and hurt the people here. He might kill everyone if we can't stop him." Tobias said. The woman smiled. "No, he shouldn't be able to. He is not strong enough to make more than one creature. However, we have to be careful. He's the guardian of the town. If we get on his bad side, then it'll be harder to find the bearer of god." The woman said.

The man sighed. "I only allowed you to know of Ash because he refuses to become 'the Executioner'. I don't care if he finds 'god' or not. If he's not fully whole, then my mission will be for not." Tobias said. The woman smiled. "Don't worry. The boy will become his true self. But it'll take time. For now we have to keep that monster under control. It is dangerous." She said. Tobias sighed. He turned away from the woman. "Alright. Anyways, I'd better check up on Ash. He'll eventually met the monster again at this rate. Got any strategies against it?" Tobias asked. The woman smiled. "You need an inhibitor collar, Perlis should have one in his brief case." The woman said. Tobias smiled. "I saw him in the bar. It should be easy." Tobias said. Then he left. As he walked, he unleashed his Darkrai from its Pokeball. "Should we trust them? They could turn on us at any moment." Tobias asked. Darkrai sighed. "We have to remember. We've tried doing it our own way and Ash refused. The only way now is by force and fear." Darkrai said, and then smirked, "If Ash doesn't want to become 'the executioner', then he'll become Dark. There's no way he cannot become one or the other. Not now." Tobias sighed as he stops. "I still don't like those nutjobs. Besides, there is no way they're religion can happen." Tobias said. Darkrai folded his arms. "I don't know. If they're transformation spell can accidentally create Eddie, who knows what else they could do." Darkrai said. Tobias nodded. "Yeah, you do have a point." He said.


	4. Chapter 3

ch. 3

Ash smiles as the gang walked up to the local lake. It was pretty big and shined in the sun light. And across the street from them were the docks. Ash soon remembers that he had cried at these same docks and the pain that caused him to cry. He clenched his heart, but ignored the pain. It was over now, and he was going to have fun. The pain won't haunt him now. He looked at his friends and notices he was just a bit ahead of them. He blushes as he slows down. They were all walking on the far sidewalk which was closer to the town than the pier. After a while, they took a turn and were now walking towards the more inward part of town. They were having a great time walking around, enjoying the view. "You know, this place is really pretty." Misty said. Ash agreed. He didn't know if it was the prettiest town he had ever been to, but it was very beautiful, especially with how the colors blended. Iris, however, was still feeling the bad vibes as she shivered. However, the group wasn't all that concerned. As they got closer to town, Ash noticed a large statue. It was in the middle of the town square in the shape of the town's founder, Yoka Mathews. He was tall, handsome man, at least according to the sculptor, and the statue was covered in white flowers. A small plaque read 'In Loving Memory of our Founder' however the group couldn't view it since a mother and daughter were gathered around. "What does it mean 'In Memory', mommy?" The girl asked her mother. The mother smiled. "It means he's no longer with us in this world. He…he was long gone before you were born. Plus if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have this town." She said. The girl smiled. Ash smiled at this as he walked with the group. After a long yet pretty walk, they finally reached the Colosseum and then walked to the Pokémon center they saw earlier. Once inside, Ash and his friends gave Nurse Joy their Pokémon to heal and got a key for Ash and his Unova friends. While their Pokémon healed, Misty introduced Tracy to Ash's Unova friends. He was waiting for them near the local TV in the lounge, so it wasn't hard to find him. "Tracy, I'd like to introduce you to Ash's newest friends, Iris and Cilan." Misty said. Tracy goofily smiled. "Nice to meet ya." He said. Ash smirked. Tracy was just the same as ever. Even his clothes weren't all that different. He still wore a green tee-shirt, a red head band, and brown shoes. The only thing different was the backpack he wore and his pants, the backpack was larger and was now bright yellow, and he wore long brown pants.

Cilan and Iris smiled as they introduced themselves. Once that was over with, Tracy looked at Ash. "It's been a long time since we've last met, Ash. I wished I was able to go with you when you went on vacation, but I had to watch the lab. I was utterly shocked when I heard you were going on another adventure." Tracy said. Ash chuckled. "Well, you know me, always looking for adventure, even on break." Ash said. Iris chuckled. "Yep, and you wouldn't believe all the trouble he's put us through." Iris said. Misty chuckles. "Oh, we can imagine. We used to travel with Ash way back. It's just a shame that we can't continue it." Misty said. Tracy nodded. Then an idea came to Ash. "Hey, why don't we go to the amusement park tomorrow? The tournament will be happening 2 days from now, so why not enjoy the time we have left." Ash said, causing the group to look at him. Even Pikachu was a bit surprised by this. Misty then chuckled. "Okay Ash, but you're buying the food." Misty said. Ash blushed. "O-Okay…" He said, stumbling over his words a bit. Misty giggles at this. Ash looked away in embarrassment. "Well, since we have plenty of daylight left, why don't we go to one of the restaurants here for dinner? I've heard one of them is even four classes." Tracy said. Ash imminently rushed up to Tracy. "YES! Yesyesyesyesyes." Ash said, very excited. Tracy sweats in embarrassment. "Well, we have one contender to say the very lease. What about you guys?" Tracy asked. The rest of the gang smiled. "Sure, why not." Iris said. Cilan smirks. "I would like to taste their specialties, so sure." Cilan said. Misty giggles. "Of course." She said. Ash cheers as he picks up Pikachu and holds him high. "ALRIGHT! It's time to EAT!" Ash proclaimed, causing every other trainer to look at them. The rest of the gang sighs in embarrassment. Then the gang heard a confident 'hmph', which caused them to turn to where it came from. To Ash's irritation, it was Trip who made the sound. "Go ahead, Ash. Go play at the park but remember why you came here. We're not here for fun; we're here for the tournament." Trip said as his voice became more annoyed as he talked. Ash smirks. "Of course. I would never forget something like that. But I want to unwind a bit before I get ready to train. I haven't done so in quiet some time, plus I want to get reacquainted with my old friends." Ash said as he looked at Trip then turned to Misty. Trip smirks. "Suit yourself. I'm off to get some food before I start my late night training." Trip said.

Suddenly, a listening Nurse Joy steps into the conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry sir, but late night training is forbidden here. Yoka Village gets so dark out at night that it's almost impossible to do anything all that productive so to protect trainers and their Pokémon, the village had put up a law forbidding night time training. We also have a stricter curfew to make sure everyone doesn't get stuck in the night." Nurse Joy said. This surprises the group and Trip. "Huh, never heard of such a thing happening to any other town in Unova. But if it's the law, then I won't complain." Trip said. The group nodded. However, Ash was a little curious about the event. "Hey, Nurse Joy, do you know WHY Yoka is the only town like that?" Ash asked. The woman was at first frozen, as if his question had put her in a flashback or something, but she quickly snapped out of it. "O-oh, no. I-I don't actually. Nobody really knows why it happens, but we've accepted it and made peace with it. So please, don't ask that question again." She said. Ash sighed, and then looked at her. "Okay," He said. This cheers up the nurse. "Well, we'd better get going to the restaurants before they close down." Tracy said. The gang nodded and walked away from Trip and the Nurse. They quickly leave the center and walked down the business center until they reached a street with quite a number of restaurants. Misty looked at Tracy with a bewildered look as they walked down one of the sidewalks. "So which restaurant are we going to?" Misty asked, curious. Cilan and Tracy were looking at their own separate maps as they tried to figure that question out. "Well, we could go to the four star restaurant but getting a good seat now is most likely impossible. Plus we don't get discounts even though Ash and Misty are taking part with the tournament." Cilan said, upset. Misty growled. "Cheapskates." She mumbled. Ash nodded. "How about this restaurant?" Tracy asked as he pointed to one of the buildings. The group turned and saw a small restaurant called 'Happy Burger' on one of the street corners. Misty turned to him with an unpleased look. "Really Tracy? I know it's hard to tell where we should go, but I don't think a fast food diner should be one of them." Misty said, annoyed. Ash smirked. "Come on, it'll be fine. Besides, I'm starving. I just want to eat now." Ash said as he held his stomach. Misty sighed. She looked at the other restaurants. They looked a lot cleaner and nicer than the burger joint, but she didn't know if she or her friends would like the food. She sighed. "Alright." She said.

Ash laughs as he grabs Misty's hands. He soon pulled her away as he ran, his other friends sighing as they walked behind their 'leader'. They then walked across the street, and walked into the restaurant. To Misty and Ash's other friends surprise, the place looked very per steam and elegant compared to what they imagined. It wasn't 4 stars quality for sure, but it was still a nice little restaurant with tables and fun little knickknacks around the joint. Plus there were quite a number of people there eating and drinking, and at the empty ones were the menus. At the front of the room was a stand with a waitress waiting for the next customers. She wore a red dress like outfit with a white apron, and she wore a white bonnet thing on her head. "Hello, how may I help you?" She asked. Ash smirks. "A table for five please." Ash said. The woman giggled. "Right this way, my lord." She said, confusing the group. She then led them to a pretty large table. The gang sat down and looked at their menus. "Is there anything I can get you now?" She asked. Iris and Cilan looked at the backs of their menus as the others looked inside theirs. "I'll have some water." Misty said. Tracy looked up. "I'll have a coffee and the mozzarella entree." Tracy said. Iris looks at Axew. "I'll have water, and milk for Axew." Iris said. Cilan smirked. "And I'll have a cinnamon coffee mix." Cilan said. The waitress smiled, but then noticed that Ash was confused. "And what do you want, my lord?" She asked. Ash looked at her. "Um… could you stop doing that? It's kind of creeping me out." Ash said as he started to sweat. The woman was surprised by this but then quickly bowed. "O-Of course. But you haven't answered my question." She said. Ash sighed as he looked at the menu. "I see this strange drink called 'Bloody Mary', what's it all about?" Ash asked, confused. Misty and the other nodded. "Yeah, I saw that too. But it doesn't really give us a clear idea what it is other than the fact that it's for adults." Misty said. The waitress smiled. "Oh that. It's a special mix of fruits we mix for the adults. However, it has an odd effect on them if they drink too much of it." The waitress said. This only confused the kids. "But if you want, I can give it to you if you really want it. Just be careful, okay." She said. Ash thought about for a moment before smiling. "Sure, why not. But make sure you have a milk tray for Pikachu." He said with his patented smile. The woman smiled back. "Okay. I'll be back with your orders." She said. She then walked away.

Ash soon noticed his friends looking at him. "What?" He asked, confused. Misty, being the closest to Ash, was the one to answer him. "Ash, you shouldn't have accepted her offer. If the adults have trouble drinking it, what makes you think you can handle it?" Misty asked with concern and annoyance. Ash smiles. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, it's rude to decline someone's offer." Ash said. The gang sighed at Ash's logic. Pikachu gets off of Ash's shoulder and sits on the table. Axew does the same thing and the gang sighs in boredom. As they waited, Misty decided to talk about Eddie since she couldn't think of a better topic; plus Tracy hadn't seen him yet so she had to warn him about the man. "So, Tracy, while I was registering for the tournament, I met a rather…interesting man. It was the same man as on the newest posters." She said. Ash didn't like the fact she began talking about 'him' again. Tracy was surprised by this. "You met the newest candidate? But…what was he doing at the Coliseum?" Tracy asked. Misty smirked. "Well, he was actually a trainer who also got invited to the tournament. Anyways, he began to talk to me about the tournament and…was creepy. Very…very creepy. He then asked me out for a date, of which, I obviously refuse. He got angry, which made me run out of the building. That's when I ran into Ash and his friends. Anyways, we returned to the Coliseum for Ash to register, and Eddie returned and talked to me. Oddly, Ash was afraid of him and Eddie seemed to know him, but…he himself was confused as to why. I wonder what it was all about." Misty said, confused. Ash blushed in embarrassment. 'Why did she have to mention THAT?' Ash thought, annoyed at Misty's comment. Tracy was confused by this. "Yeah, that is very confusing." Tracy said. The others nodded. Ash soon laughed as he tried to distract them. "But it doesn't matter, because I'm going to protect you from him." Ash said. Misty was taken aback by this. "Oh…thanks Ash." She said, not sure what to really say. Ash wanted to face palm himself. He shouldn't have blurted it out like that. He sighed. 'What's done is done. Besides, it doesn't really matter. Eddie isn't that monster in my dreams. He's still a monster, but he's not THAT thing.' Ash thought. 'Ugh, when is that waitress coming? I need something to un-awkward this.' He soon noticed the waitress coming back with their drinks. Ash smiled. 'Finally.' He thought as he felt his body relax. The woman soon served them their drinks.

Pikachu and Axew began to drink their milk as the waitress waited for what they wanted to eat. Ash and his friend looked at the menus as they scanned the foods. After a while, they all found something they wanted to eat and ordered. The woman smiled as she wrote them down. Once done, she left and the gang sighed in relief. They then looked at Ash's drink. It was in the same kind of cup as the others, a large sized see-through cup with no handles, but the coloring was what really caught their eyes. It looked like blood. Thankfully, there were celery and lettuce sticks in it to show that it wasn't 'really' blood. There were also ice cubes, but it didn't matter since they were in all the cold drinks. "I-I guess this is why they call it a 'Bloody Mary'." Ash joked as he sweated. He was very unsure if he even wanted to drink it now. He knew it was only a drink, but the coloring really made him nervous. "Well, except for the 'Mary' part. We still don't know why it has that." Tracy said. Ash glares at Tracy. Ash then sighs as he picks up the drink. He gulped as he put the drink closer to his mouth. He soon took a small sip of the drink. He sighs as he put it down, and then suddenly smiles. "See I told you it was nothing to worry about. In fact, it's quite tasty." Ash said. His calm and warm smile eased their fears. They sigh in relief. "So…what does it taste like?" Cilan asked, a bit curious. Ash thought about it for a moment. "I'd say like …I don't really know. I want to say like apple juice, but there's something...more to it than that. It's really good though." Ash said. (Note: I have never had wine or the like before when making this story, so this is a very, very, very inaccurate telling of what it tastes like. Sorry.) His friends were intrigued by this. "Maybe we should have ordered it." Misty said. Iris shook her head. "I don't think so. Ash was LUCKY that the waitress allowed him to get it. If we asked for the same thing, we would most defiantly been rejected." Iris said. Misty sighed. "Yeah. But it would've been worth the shot…By the way, why did she allow Ash to drink it?" Misty said. Ash smirked. "Probably the same strange reason she kept calling me lord. I don't know why she did it, but I'm at least glad she allowed me to have this drink." Ash said. The gang nodded. "Just remember her warning, you shouldn't drink too much of it." Tracy reminded them. Ash nodded. He soon took another sip of the drink, but this time he took quite a bit more than the initial one. Ash then puts the drink down.

Suddenly the world began fuzzy a little. Ash shocked his head and looked around. Everything was back to normal. 'What was that all about?' Ash thought. Ash sighed. After a while, he hiked up. The gang looked at him. "Ash, are you okay?" Iris asked. Ash looked at her. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just drank it too fast." He said. The gang sighed. "Sorry if we looked so worried, it's just the fact that we're bored." Tracy said. Ash nodded. Ash took another sip of the drink. He then ate the pieces of food that were in the drink. He licked his lips once he was done. Misty then thought of a topic they could talk about. "Hey Ash, I was just wondering what kinds of adventures you've been through. You've obviously been busy, but I want the specifics." Misty said. Ash smiled. "Oh, of course. Now let's see." Ash said as he began to think. However, everything began to fuzzy again. 'Come on! I know I can think of something!' Ash yelled inside himself, but oddly the voice was so loud that it hurt him. "OW!" Ash yelled as he holds his head. This surprises the group. "What's the matter?" Iris asked, confused. Ash looks at them. "I…I don't know. I tried to think to myself but my thoughts became so loud that it hurt." Ash said, confused. Cilan soon thought of something. "Maybe this is the 'odd effect' the waitress talked about. Ash, I think you should stop. Who knows what will happen next if drink anymore." Cilan said, very worried. Ash sighed. "Cilan, I'm fine. The pain is easing away and I don't feel any bit different so don't worry. Anyways, a story…a story…" Ash said, then took another sip of his drink. He soon hike-up again. Ash suddenly laughed. "I don't remember a single one. Sorry." He said. The gang sighed. After a few seconds, the waitress returned with their food. Ash smiles, but it wasn't his usual smile. It was dirty and creepy. Misty shivers since it reminded her of Eddie. The waitress puts the food down, and notices that Ash's cup was empty. "Oh, I see that you are done with your Bloody Mary." She said. Ash nods. "Yeah, and I want another." Ash said, his voice sounding a bit slurred. The woman took a step back. "I'm sorry sir, but you need to wait another half hour before you can order another one. I really recommend it. Maybe you can eat your food in the meantime." The waitress said a bit scared.

Ash snarls, scaring everyone. He stands up. "Are you defying me? I thought I was your 'lord'. You don't want to get your lord angry, DO YOU!?" Ash snapped at her. The woman frantically bowed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. I was just caring for your safety that's all." She said, terrified for her life. Ash smirks. "Then get me another." He said in a threatening voice. The woman got up. "Of course. I'll be right on it." She said, then ran off. Ash snickers to himself as he sits back down. However, his friends were horrified by this. "ASH! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU!?" Misty yelled, outraged that her friend would behave like that. Ash glares at Misty. She was taken back by his eyes. They were cold and vicious, and reminded her of Eddie. Ash soon smirked and grabbed his plate. "I-I don't know what you're talking about? I'm f-fine." Ash said, his words more obviously slurred. He soon began to eat away. "Ash, Misty's right, something's not right with you. You need to stop drinking that drink. It's making you more like Eddie." Cilan said. Ash growls as he remembers the man. He stands up and slams his hands on the table. "DON'T YOU EVER COMPARE ME WITH HIM!" Ash roared. Pikachu and Axew were terrified by the boy. "Ash, it's the truth. Look at Pikachu. You're scarring not only us, but also your best friend." Iris said. Ash looked at Pikachu who was looking at his trainer with worried eyes. Ash didn't know what to do. He holds his head as he tried to think of some way to ease his friends' fears, but all he felt like doing was yell at them. Suddenly the waitress returned with his drink. "Here's your second bloody Mary, my lord. P-please enjoy your stay here." She said as she began to leave, but Misty stopped her. "Wait a minute! You're not going anywhere." Misty yelled as she steps in front of the woman, "What did you do to Ash?" The waitress blinked. "What are you talking about?" She asked, honestly confused about this. Misty groans. "You made him act this way. Ever since he drank that weird drink he's been acting harshly towards everyone, so tell us what you did to him?" Misty said, very annoyed. The woman looked at the boy who was eating the small amount of food in the drink. She then sighed. "It's the drink. If you drink too much of it, then your sense of reason lower and you are more prawn to do stupid things. In most men it means that they do stupid things, but in a few amount of people, like your friend, it raises their anger levels and lowers what they deem as acceptable. I was hoping his tolerance for the drink would be low, but I guess not." She said, very sincere. The gang looked at the drink. Ash was gulping it down. "ASH! STOP THAT! You heard what the waitress said. You need to stop drinking." Iris said. Ash finishes the drink and then puts the drink down. He hick ups as he glares at them. He soon began eating his food. "Ash please let that be your last drink, for not only us, but for your own safety." Tracy said. Ash puts his food down and growls. He picks up his plate and gets up. He soon walked away. "ASH!" Misty called. But she stopped when Ash looked back and growled at her, looking like he was going to hurt if she didn't stay back. Misty sighs as she watches him sit down at an empty table. She then sits down and began eating her meal. Tracy felt very bad that he let this happen, however he couldn't think of a way to help his friend. Cilan and Iris also felt terrible, and wished they had known about the drink's true effects earlier. Pikachu looks at Ash with a concern look, while Axew was just confused.

"I'm so sorry for allowing your friend to have the drink. I knew that he was still very young, so his resistance to alcohol would be very low, but I didn't think it was THAT low. But even then, it was no excuse." She said, very sad as she looked at the group. Tracy looks at her. "But then why did you do it?" Tracy asked, confused. The woman sighed. "Well, because he resembles the town's guardian." She said. The group blinked. "The town's guardian?" Cilan asked, confused. The waitress nodded. "I've heard that Yoka had a guardian Pokémon watching over them, but I've never heard its name or seen a picture of it." Iris said, kind of embarrassed. This intrigues the group. Ash listens in as well; sober enough to at least listen to her. "So, what is this 'guardian' like?" Tracy asked. The maid blushed. "I really don't know. Only the most promenade members of the town know what the guardian is really like. But I've heard that he's a kind spirit that roams the world to punish villains." She said. The gang smiled. "So you think Ash resembles this 'spirit'?" Misty asked. The woman nodded. "Yes." She said. This intrigues the group even more. "So, what does he look like?" Cilan asked. The woman blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't say anymore. The high priestesses would get really mad if I told you." She said. The gang sighed. "I can at least tell you his name. They call him Xuchilbara. I'm not sure why he has such a silly sounding name, but hey, I didn't come up with it." The waitress said. The gang nodded. They soon began eating their food. Pikachu and Misty looked at Ash while they ate, with Misty giving Pikachu some of her food, as they looked at Ash. Ash had continued eating as well, but looked like a mess. He wasn't the most neat and orderly eater, but now he was acting like an animal. Misty sighs as she finishes up her meal. She looks at the others who were finishing up, and then back at Ash. He ordered another Bloody Mary. This time he was very aggressive against the waitress. Misty shivers at his actions. She wondered if this was what the real Ash was like. The one that was beyond his chipper nice persona and what was really in his heart. She knew very well that Ash can be quiet a jerk to people, but never did it go THIS far. Were these the actions he's always been hiding in himself? She shocked her head. 'No. That's ridiculous. This isn't Ash. It's the alcohol that is making him act this way. In fact, he's probably going to be ashamed of what he did tonight once the drink wares off.' Misty thought, then sighed. 'Even still, it's horrible seeing him act this way.' Misty thought to herself as turned to her friends.

Meanwhile, Ash looked at her. He smiled. He hicks up again and lay his head on the table. It was starting to hurt again. His mind soon wandered over to Eddie. Just who is this guy? Is he really his monster come to life? Ash shocked his head. 'No. Th-that's stupid. Monsters like it can't come to life. They only exist in my head…until they consume me.' Ash looked at his hands. 'Am I turning into a monster? …Naugh. I'm fine. Although…they are right. I have had enough…just one last drink and then I'll stop.' Ash thought to himself as the waitress returned with his drink. He smiles as he looks at the waitress. "Thank you, miss. This will be my last drink." Ash coldly said. The woman shivers. "Th-thank you for staying at the Happy Burger, we hope we see you again." She said in terror before walking away. Ash snickers as he grabbed the food in the drink and ate it. He soon drank down the drink, which eases his headache. The gang finishes up their meals and looked at Ash. Iris picks up Axew as they got up from their seats. They then walked over to him as he finishes his drink. "Ash, it's time to go. We don't want to miss the curfew." Cilan said. Ash turns them and laughs. "Y-yeah. L-Let's *hick* let's go…" Ash said his face red with blush. His eyes were now calm and it looked like they could approach him. Tracy grabs the boy's arms and puts one over his neck. "Ash, I think I should carry you to your room. I don't think you can walk right now." Tracy said. Ash growls and pushes the boy away. "I can handle myself!" Ash roared as Tracy falls to the floor. Ash soon holds his head. His headache had returned, but this time it was worse. "Tracy's right. You can't handle yourself right now. Just let us help you." Misty said. Ash snarls as he looks at her, feral rage consuming him. He soon ran off without them. Pikachu runs after his master with the others quickly following him. Back with Ash, he was running away from them. The rage was unbearable, but he still felt himself fighting it. He rushed past many people as they walked down the busy street. He had to get away. He had to make sure he didn't hurt anyone. Suddenly his head shrieked in pain causing him to stop and hold his head. He falls to the ground, which causes the people around him to stop and look at the boy. They looked at him with worry and confusion. Some people were even considering calling for an ambulance. Suddenly Pikachu and the others arrived and pushed through the crowd until they reached Ash. They were horrified once they saw him. He was lying on the ground, holding his head, as he grunted in pain. His friends rushed over to him and knelled next to him. Ash gets up and then laughs, scaring everyone. Ash looks at the people and chuckles, a monstrous smile on his face and a murderous look in his eyes. Everybody stepped back. Ash soon held his head as he chuckled. His mind was so foggy and warped that he couldn't tell what was even happening with himself. He then grabbed Misty and puts his face near hers. Misty was horrified as she looked into his eyes. 'This can't be Ash. This…this just can't.' She thought as he pulled her closer. He was about do something when Cilan and Iris grabbed his arms, and Tracy pulled Misty away from him. Ash roars as he tries to break free. "Ash, please calm down." Cilan said. Ash growls at them. Misty soon walks up to Ash, which causes him to look at her. "Ash…please…" Misty said as tears began to roll down her face. This snaps Ash out of his rage. He looks at his friends, horror on his face. He soon stops struggling which causes his friends to let go of him. He looks at his friends. "L-let's go already…I've…I've done enough damage." Ash said, ashamed of himself. His friends nodded as Tracy lets go of Misty. The crowd around them soon began to disband as the gang walked back to the Pokémon center. Ash leaned on Cilan for support as they walked.

Once they entered the center, Nurse Joy noticed the boy's condition and rushed over to them. "Oh my god, what happened?" She asked as she rushed over to them, her Audeno following her. Misty sweats in embarrassment. "Well, it turns out Ash had a few too many Bloody Maries and ended up like this. If you have any ideas on to help him, we would really appreciate it." Misty said. Nurse Joy gasped in shock. "Oh my god, I can't believe someone allowed him to get a Bloody Mary. Whoever did this will pay for their insolence." Nurse Joy said, very angry. The group was a little weirded out by this. Nurse Joy notices this and bows. "I'm sorry. Seeing someone drunk is a very odd thing in this town, and seeing your friend in particular being drunk is very disheartening. But everything is alright, and once the alcohol has worn off, I can properly treat his hang over." Nurse Joy said with a smile. However this made the kids more confused. "Hang over?" Iris asked, confused. Nurse Joy nodded. "Yes. It's a term we use that means when the mind is recovering from alcohol withdrawal. The person who has the hang over is constantly in pain and will need proper medication so that the effect can wear off faster." Nurse Joy said. The gang didn't like that term at all. "I guess that's the reason you didn't want any to be drunk. The side effects are horrible." Tracy said. Nurse Joy nodded. However, Misty couldn't help but still be confused. "But…why were so concern with Ash in particular?" Misty asked. This causes the group to agree. Nurse Joy sweated. "Oh, well, because he's a competitor for the tournament. Seeing such any trainer drunk, even if the tournament is only a few days away, is not good since they'll need to be at their A game." Nurse Joy said. However, the team wasn't fully convinced. Something about it was phony. "Are you sure it's the ONLY reason?" Iris asked. Nurse Joy nodded. "Yep. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get going. There are Pokémon who need me…Oh and before I forget; you should really get him to bed as soon as possible. Getting rest is one of the best ways to lessen the effects of the hang over." Nurse Joy said as she began to leave.

The gang looked at Ash and sighed. "Well, at least we now know what to do." Iris said. Cilan nods. Ash hicks up. "I-I promise to never drink again." Ash said. This made the gang smile. "Alright, now let's get you to bed." Cilan said. Ash nodded. Iris and Cilan looked at Tracy and Misty. "So, what are you guys going to do while we take Ash to bed?" Cilan asked. Misty yawns. "I think we should also go to bed." Misty said. The others agreed. The group soon headed to their dorm rooms which were near the left side of the center. After a bit of navigation, the group reached the room Cilan, Iris, and Ash were staying in. Misty and Tracy said goodbye and went off to their room. The gang said goodbye and entered their room. Their room was a bit advance compared to the normal dorm room with two bunk beds, a large table at the end, a mirror, a chair for the table, a few dressers at the front of the room, a small door leading to a shared bathroom, and a small hat and backpack stand near one of the beds. Iris takes off Ash's backpack and puts it on the stand. Meanwhile Cilan put Ash on the lower left bed. Ash grabs the blanket under him and wraps it around himself as Pikachu climbed onto the bed. Ash sighs and looks at his friends. He then looked down. "I-I'm sorry for everything I said...I...I was just mad that's all. I was still angry about my father, and it transferred into insulting you..." Ash said. Cilan smirks. "Well, don't worry. We accept your apology. Besides, you weren't fully in control. The alcohol poisoned your mind. Once it's cleared from your system, then you'll be back to your normal self." Cilan said. Ash looked down. "Y-yeah, my normal self." Ash said, although he didn't sound so confident in his own words which confuses the group. "Ash, is something wrong?" Iris asks as she takes off her own backpack and grabs her nightgown out of the backpack. She then puts it on the rack. Ash looks up and puts up his hands. "What? NO! I'm fine...The alcohol is just making me feel...dizzy." Ash said. The gang sighed. "Well, we'd better get our rest." Cilan said as he takes off his backpack. Ash nodded and takes off his hat. He then gives it to Cilan who puts it on one of the pillars of the bunk bed. Cilan then puts his backpack on the rack as Iris goes into the bathroom to change into her nightgown. Ash yawns and then falls asleep. After a few minutes, Iris returns with her nightgown on. She looks at Ash and smiles. "Well, I hope he has good dreams. The town is infamous for giving horrible nightmares to those who've done anything bad, even if it is a silly mistake." Iris said. Cilan chuckles. "Iris, he'll be fine. Besides, this town is ordinary. There aren't any monsters or spirits like you fear. Although, he may have nightmares because of his hangover. But he'll be fine." Cilan said. Iris sighs. "I just hope we can get some decent sleep." Iris said. Cilan nodded as he grabs his nightclothes out of his backpack and then walked to the bathroom.

(Meanwhile.)

Eddie was wobbling in the dark alleyways of Yoka Village, holding his head in pain. In the main streets, a group of cloaked people rushed around the streets. Eddie looks back and growls. 'Who are these people? Why are they chasing me? I haven't done anything yet...but at least they aren't too smart and haven't found me yet...' Eddie sighs as he looked up. It was now night and the rumors were true. It was nearly impossible to see anything in this darkness. However, with this darkness on his side, it meant those fools couldn't locate him as easily. He soon sees a bit of the moon and smiles. It was oddly nice seeing such a beautiful thing. Oddly he could barely see the stars, which weirded him out. He shocked his head. He had to keep moving. "But...where did I even come from? I...I just remember waking up near a familiar cabin...ugh...my head. It's pounding." Eddie said as he closed his eyes. He kept moving though. He soon opened his eyes and sees the Pokemon Center. He sighed. It was the best place to go for now, besides, he didn't have the money to get a real hotel. He soon walked towards the center. Meanwhile with the running people, they stopped at the edge of one of the streets and began to pant. "Man, what a runner. I can't believe we lost him so quickly. And that was BEFORE it became so dark." A familiar male voice said from under one of the cloaks. He was really annoyed. One of them, which was obviously a female with long red-purple hair that poked from her clock, pulls down her hood and growls. It turns out to be Jessie from Team Rocket. "I still don't understand why we have to wear these stupid costumes! They're itchy and they really don't help us blend into crowds! In fact, they would make us pop out even more!" Jessie yelled, really annoyed. James pulls down his hood and sighs. "They're not made to help us blend into crowds. They're supposedly to hide our identities from this Eddie guy." James said. Jessie growls. "There had to be a better way than THIS. These things are NOT scary! Besides, why are we even trying to capture him in the first place? All Perlis said that he was a menace, BUT HE HASN'T DONE A SINGLE THING!" Jessie yelled. Meowth nodded. "Yeah...but what else can we do? Perlis won't help us capture the Pokemon unless we help him. But I think there is a reason why Perlis doesn't want him around. Ya see, this Eddie guy is apart of the Mayoral shtick, so if he goes away, then there'll be on else guy to get in Perlis' way. And once he's mayor, Team Rocket can come in and conquer this town and get this mysterious energy the boss wanted." Meowth said. James smiled. "Yeah. That's it. Oh Meowth, you're always clearing things up." James said. Meowth snickers. "Yep. That's true. Now let's find this guy and get our reward." Meowth said. Jessie and James nodded. "Yes, and this time we're going to get Pikachu, no matter what! For this, I swear upon!" James yelled. Meowth and Jessie smiled wildly. "YEAH!" They both yelled.


	5. Chapter 4

ch. 4

 **Sorry for the long delayed. I've been dealing with collage with is very hard. I hope you like this chapter.**

A loud siren rings through the air which causes Ash to open his eyes. He looks around and finds himself not in his bed, but in the middle of town. Ash looked at the large statue of the founder. But found that it was now deformed and ugly. In fact, the entire town was like that. Guts, blood and oddly wired grates were everywhere where there wasn't a building. Ash covered his mouth. His stomach churned as though he wanted to throw up. Ash gulped the veil down and closed his eyes. This was just a bad dream. It had to be a dream. He was just having a nightmare because of the alcohol. His head also hurt quite a bit. He sighed. He opened his eyes and sees something in the distance. Ash walks towards it. "Cheryl? Is that Cheryl?" A voice asked. It was male but didn't belong to any male Ash knew. Ash walked over to the thing and notices that it was a little girl with dark brown hair. Ash grabs the girl's shoulder, which causes her to turn around. It was Alessa. That girl he saw in that one dream. The one with Silent Hill and that Pyramid Headed creature he turned into. Ash steps back and then holds his head. He closes his eyes as the sirens became louder. Ash screams in pain as he feels his body change. Suddenly he felt something stab in chest. He opens his eyes and sees Cilan and Dawn looking at him in horror. Ash looks down and sees that he was the one stabbing himself. Ash was confused by this. Ash closed his eyes as he roars in pain. He felt something burst out of his chest. Ash falls to the ground and cries in pain. What was going on with him? Why was he in so much pain? Is this really the alcohol doing this? Ash screams again as his body twisted inside. He soon felt small things crawling all over him. Ash opened his eyes and finds many small bug Pokémon all over him. He saw Spinarak, Caterpie, Ledyba, Wurmple, Weedle, oddly Anorith, Paras, Venapede, Yanma, Surskit, Nincada, and Skorupi crawling all over his body. His hands and arms, his legs, his torso, he felt some on his neck, and he felt some in his hair. He wasn't sure why they weren't on his face, but he didn't care, he was in a lot of pain. He looked up and notices he was in a hospital bed. Ash gets up and coughs. He gets out of bed but oddly didn't hear any of the bugs get squished. Ash got the crazy idea that the bugs weren't really there or where actually inside him, but he shook the idea away since it sounded really silly and weird. Ash looked around. Everything was starting to get blurry. Ash walks over to the door and opens it.

Once in the hallway, he sighed in relief. The pain was starting to ease a bit. He soon noticed that the bugs weren't hurting him, they just crawled around him. He smiled. At least he knew that they weren't the reasons he was in so much pain. Ash then looked down the hallways. They were completely empty and looked very dirty. Ash hugs the wall as he walks down the hallway. He was still feeling terrible, so he leaned on the wall to try and keep his balance. However, he still wobbled a bit as he walked. Ash looked at the hallway. There were a lot of doors, even more than what was normally in a large hallway. The rooms would have to be closets in order for all these doors to lead to separate rooms. Ash soon held his head as the pain increases. It was now pounding like mad…in fact he could see a pattern to the pounding it sounded like…war drums. Ash felt terror run through his body at the thought of that, but he didn't know why. Ash shooked his head. He had to get help quickly. Luc, Satoshi, Hexxus, Light, ANYONE! He just needed someone to help him. Ash soon held his head again as the pain increased. Ash quickly stops and screams in pain. The world and his body distorted as he yelled. After a while, Ash falls to his knees and begins to pant as he runs out of breath. He holds his torso to try and make sure he didn't throw up everything. However, he soon notices that the bugs were now gone, and with them so did his wooziness. Ash sighed as he stands up. At least things looked like they were going to get better. He opened his eyes and notices that the black tuff of hair he had in-between his eyes had shifted to his right and a bit to his left. And to his shock and confusion, his hair was now dirty blonde. 'What the?' Ash thought, very confused.

Ash looked around and notices he was in a large lab with test tubes, beakers, books, and chemicals everywhere. It oddly felt like home. Ash soon notices a large full-body mirror in the left most corners near a staircase that leads to a door. Ash walks over to the mirror, confused by its presence. 'What's that even doing here?' Ash wondered to himself. However, all questions were silenced when he was in looking distance of the mirror. He stopped in terror as he looked at his reflection. To his revolution it wasn't himself who was in the mirror, it was Eddie. Ash covers his mouth in disgust and feels his nose being hooked. Not only this, but his hands were now longer than normal and were a light skin color than normal. This only made things worse. 'Nononononono…No! This…This can't be happening! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! I'M NOT EDDIE! I'M NOT A MONSTER!' Ash yelled to himself as he closed his eyes. Fear consumed him as he rejected the idea that Eddie and he were the same person. It just couldn't be. He saw Eddie in the real world. There's no way they could be connected. Ash soon notices the smell of meat in the air. Ash opens his eyes and sees that he was now in small room filled with fog. It was very cold and the smell of meat had not disappeared, in fact it only gotten stronger. Was he in a meat freezer? How did he get into a meat freezer? Ash asked himself. 'But then again, I went from the town square to a hospital bed, then a laboratory, so why not a meat locker.' Ash thought to himself. Ash soon notices that there were a lot of small pipes and tubes everywhere in the room, with some of the tubes open which were letting out the fog. But there was something else in the room, and Ash quickly noticed it when he looked down near his feet. He sees a revolver in his hands, smoke coming from the barrel, and a man at his feet. However, he felt a smile on his face. 'W-what's going on with me?' Ash asked. Why was he so happy right now? "Eddie, what are you doing?" A voice called out. It was different than the first voice. Ash turns around and sees a young man with a green vest, grey shirt, and blue pants. He had dirty blonde hair as well, and Ash could feel a deep hatred for the man. Yet, he was happy. Ash growls as his blond hair swayed.

"What does it look like? He always busted my balls. 'You fat, disgusting piece of shit! You make me sick!' 'Fat-ass, yer nothin' but a waste of skin!' 'You're so ugly, even your mamma don't love you!' Well, maybe he was right. Maybe I am nothing but a fat, disgusting piece of shit! But you know what? It doesn't matter if you're smart, dumb, ugly, pretty…IT'S ALL THE SAME ONCE YOU'RE DEAD! And a corpse can't laugh. From now on, if anyone makes fun of me, I'll KILL THEM! Just like that!" Ash yelled, his rage consuming him. He wasn't even sure where it was coming from. He soon remembered every nasty and insulting word he heard Iris said, and he now knew why he was saying this. Ash turns away, ready to leave. "Eddie! Have You've gone nuts?" James yelled. Ash froze before turning around. Ash gritted his teeth. "I knew it. You too! You're just like 'em, James!" Ash yelled, the pain consuming him. "Hey, I didn't mean anything." James said. Ash turned his head away. "Don't bother! I understand. You've been laughing at me all along, haven't you? Ever since we first met. I'll kill you James!" Ash yelled, as he lifts his gun and fires it near James' right arm. However, James quickly dodges it and pulls out his own gun. Ash dunks as James fires his shot gun. Ash soon fires his gun again, and it hits James right leg. James grunts in pain, and fires his gun right into Ash's chest. Ash grunts in pain as he feels the bullet goes into his body. Oddly, Ash got up again and shoots his gun again, however James dodges it. James was now very near Ash and shoots his shotgun point blank. Ash screams in pain as he holds his wound. However, he didn't feel like he was dying. Ash soon uses his left arm to punch James right in the stomach. James grunts before firing again. Ash is pushed into the door and grunts in pain. Ash falls to the floor and breaths heavily. He closes his eyes and stands up. Despite the bullet wounds, he still had the strength to get up. He wasn't going to give up so easily.

Ash soon rushes into the meat house and feels himself disappearing into the fog, as though he was becoming the mist itself. Whatever was happening to him, he wasn't sure, but he did know that the pain was disappearing. James soon walks into the warehouse, which causes Ash to chuckle. "Do you know what it does to you, James? When you're hated, picked on, spit on, just cause of the way you look? After you've been laughed at your whole friggin' life? That's why I ran away after I killed that dog. I ran away like a scared little girl. Yeah, I killed that dog. It was fun! It tried to chew its own guts up, finally died all curled up in a ball. Then 'he' came after me, I shot him too, right in the leg. He cried more than the dog, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Ash laughed as he closes the door behind James. James turns around, but doesn't see the boy. James tries to open the door but it was locked. Ash smiled. "He's gonna have a hard time playing football on what's left of that knee." Ash said. James turns around, looking for Ash. "You think it's okay to kill people? You need help, Eddie." James said. Ash glares at James, even though James has no idea where the boy was. "Don't get so holy on me, James. This town called you, too. You and me are the same. We're not like other people. Don't you know that?" Ash asked. He then appears behind James as James turns towards the middle of the meat field. "Let's party!" Ash yelled in glee. James fires his gun, which Ash dodges with ease. Ash soon fires his revolver, which hits James in the right shoulder. Ash fires again, but James dodges. Ash fires again, but soon finds out he was out of bullets. 'Shit.' Ash thought as he pulls out revolver shells out of his pants pockets. He soon felt a bullet hit his stomach. Ash clutches his stomach as he screams in pain. He replaces the bullets and looks for James, who was very near to Ash. Ash punches the man in the face to get some distance. James raises his gun to Ash's chest and fires, hitting square in the chest. Ash screams in pain as stumbles back. He looks at James with anger. Everything was beginning to blur. Ash closes his eyes and screams in pain.

(The real world.)

Ash wakes up in his bed, holding Pikachu tightly. Pikachu looked ready to thunder shock his best friend. Ash lets go of his friend who relaxes. Ash blushes. "Sorry Pikachu. I just had a bad dream. That's all." Ash said. Pikachu nodded. Ash soon felt his stomach curled inside. Ash holds his stomach. He smirks as he opens one eye. "I guess that alcohol is really messing with my stomach. I…I think I'm going to throw up." Ash said, then jumped out of bed. He rushes to the bathroom and throws up in the toilet. Pikachu sighs as his partner throws up his dinner. At least this will teach the boy to never drink adult drinks again. Back with Ash, once he finished throwing up, he cleaned his mouth with some toilet paper, and throws it into the toilet when he was done. He quickly flushes the toilet so the smell wouldn't infect the room. Ash grumbles as he gets up. His head still hurt, but at least not as much as when he was dreaming. He sighed and went over to the mirror to make sure he got all the puck whipped up. To his relief, he had. Ash soon remembered his dream. It was so weird. What was even about? He knew it had something to do with Eddie, but it was all a confusing mess. He was especially confused by the last bit. It felt so real, but he knew it was all in his mind. How else could a human survive so many bullets and disappear out of James' view. 'But…who is James anyway? Is he me and I was just playing as the form of Eddie….no that doesn't make any sense. If James was me, then why wasn't I playing as James?' Ash holds his head. He soon remembered how he acted towards his friends. His face was struck with horror. How could he allow himself do such mean things? His head buzzed in pain. 'Oh right…the alcohol. Well, no more. I won't risk hurting my friends again.' Ash thought to himself. He sighed. 'Okay. I'd better get out of here. Cilan and Iris are probably worried about me.' Ash thought as he walked to the door. He soon exits the bathroom, expecting to see his friends. But all he saw was Pikachu waiting for him. Ash looks at the clock and sees that it was 4 o'clock. He looks at his friends beds and see them asleep, but having nightmares. Ash sighed. He soon walked over to the window. It was nearly pitch black out there, only the moon and the street lamps allowed any light. And even then, the moon's light wasn't as bright as normal. Ash soon noticed how there were hardly any stars in the sky. This confuses him. How can there be so little light in this town? Ash sighs. He'd better get back to bed. Ash soon walked back to bed and lay on his back before wrapping the blanket around himself. Pikachu soon lay on top of his friend. Ash sighs and closes his eyes. After a while, he felt himself falling back to sleep.

….

After a long while, Ash opens his eyes and finds himself in a deep mist. He looks around, confused. Where was he? It kind of looked like the middle of town, but how did he get there? He soon sees the dark haired girl again. She was looking at him with worried eyes. "Guardian, you have to leave this place." She said. Ash reached out to her. "Why?" Ash asked. He was so confused now. Who was this girl anyways? Why did she look so familiar? "Something is trying to awaken the monster inside of you. If they get a hold of you, then it will unleash it's terror to the town." She said. Ash soon remembered the warning the monster in his head told him. That 'the time of awakening' was coming. Ash soon smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let it escape me nor am I going to let it or myself be captured by some bad guys. I'm going to win the tournament and make sure these bad people pay for whatever crime they committed." Ash said with confidence. The girl sighed. "I hope so…" She said. Ash soon rubbed the back of his head. "By the way…who are you really…and why do you look familiar?" Ash asked. The girl smirk. "What, don't you recognize me?" She asked. Ash held his chin as he thought. Suddenly he remembered he had met her before. "No, Alessa, that's not what I meant. I want to know who you really are?" Ash asked as he looked at her with shock. The girl nodded. "Yes my guardian, it is I…but I don't have a lot of time left here. I have to go." She said. Suddenly Ash felt a sharp pain in his head. His eyes soon snapped opened, but were now reptilian and vicious. Ash walks up to her. **"No my empress! Don't go, stay with me!"** Ash yelled, but his voice was off. Alessa looks at him with concern. "Guardian, I have to go. Besides, you said you would be fine." She said, concern. Ash looked down, torn on what to say. He soon holds her tightly. **"But…I don't want you to go…you already left me twice now. I don't want you to go again, Alessa…Please."** Ash said as he looks at her. The girl looked sad. "I'm sorry. But I have to…" She said, but Ash soon growled. Alessa froze in fear. He sounded just like a dog. **"NO! I WON'T LOSE YOU AGAIN! I…WE NEED YOU! WE ALL NEED YOU! DON'T RUN FROM US AGAIN!"** Ash yelled, scarring the girl. Ash soon notices her hair was turning blue. He smiles as he leans closer to her. **"I need you my empress. I don't want you to run away from us again. It only leads to more people getting hurt."** Ash said in a softer tone. The girl looks at him with fear and confusion. "W-what are you?" She asked. Ash smirked. **"Something you don't want hunting you…"** Ash said. Suddenly sirens could be heard. Ash sighed. **"Well, it looks like it's time for me to go…I really didn't want it to happen, but…I can't control when THEY call me."** Ash said, then disappears in the mist.

…

Ash opens his eyes again, confused as he looks at Pikachu. Ash holds his head as he sits up. He soon remembered the dream he had. He couldn't believe how he behaved. He sighed. Even with the alcohol mostly out of his system it was still making him act weird. He thought about Alessa. Who was she anyways? Why did he call her 'empress'? Why does he even know her name? Why did she call him 'guardian' was she a part of the town? Had he been here before? Was this the 'Silent Hill' from that one dream? Ash sighed. Whatever was going on with his mind, he didn't know. He soon looked to his left and saw Misty sitting at a chair holding a tray with cereal, water, and a cup with some pills. Ash blinked. When did she come in? Ash looked at the clock and sees that it was now 8 o'clock. He looks at Misty again and smiles. "Oh, hey Misty…what brings you here?" He asked, then looked around, "And where are Cilan and Iris?" Misty smiles. "Oh, they're in the lounge with Tracy." Misty said, but she was oddly doing it at an oddly loud whisper. Ash titled his head. "Why are you whispering?" He asked. Misty groans. "Well, because of you, silly. You're having a hangover, and Nurse Joy told me that people with hangovers can't handle loud noises at first, so we have to whisper." Misty said. Ash smiled. "Oh…well. I guess that's the stuff that will ease my hangover." Ash said. Misty nodded and handed Ash the tray. Ash grabs it and puts it on his lap. Pikachu jumps off the bed and climbs onto Misty's lap as his best friend grabbed the pills and the water. He swallows the pills with the water and then begins to eat his cereal. Ash soon notices that Misty looked tired. Ash stops eating and then swallows. "Hey Misty, you look tired. Is something wrong?" Ash asked. Misty smiled. "Just as observant as always, Ash." She said, then looked down. "Tracy, Iris, Cilan, and I all had nightmares about the way you acted. They were horrible…You…were horrible…" She said. This only made Ash feel worse about it. Misty quickly notices this. "I-I didn't mean to imply that you are normally a bad guy, it's just…when you were drunk, you reminded us of a monster. Thankfully, you've promised to never drink again, so that monster will never come back." Misty said. Ash soon remembered the other time he let his monstrous side win. Ash closes his eyes as he tried to block the memories. "I…I'm not sure." Ash said. This confuses Misty. "What do you mean by that?" She asked. Ash soon notices that he let that slip and blushes as he looks at her. He rubs the back of his head in embarrassment.

"N-nothing. I…I was just be paranoid. Th-that's all." Ash said. Misty sighs. Ash soon finishes up his food. Once done, Ash got up, but soon wobbled. He grabbed one of the bunk-bed's posts to keep stable. "Ash, I don't think you're well enough to be walking just yet." Misty said. Ash blushes as he smiled. "What are you talking about? I'm fine." Ash said with confidence. Misty sighs. "You should at least talk to Nurse Joy about it before you are sure. We don't want you to hurt yourself." Misty said. Ash nodded. The two trainers and Pikachu soon left the room and walked to the main lobby. Ash looked around as they entered the place. It was buzzing with excitement. Ash soon notices Nurse Joy helping another person, however, she was blocking the boy, so it hard to tell who she was helping. Ash and Misty walked up to her, but soon stopped when they heard the woman speak. "Okay, Mr. Jackal. You should be good to leave now." She said. An amused chuckle could be heard behind her. "Good, I'm tired of just waiting for my hangover to be over. Now if you excuse me, I have to go gain people's approval over me." Eddie's voice said. Ash growled as the man finishes talking. Nurse Joy turns around and notices them. "Oh, Ash, I see that you have also recovered from you hangover. That's good." Nurse Joy said with a smile, however, Ash was not amused. "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!" Ash roared, unable to control his rage. He wasn't even that sure why he was so angry. "Oh, Mr. Jackal came here for the night after going a large party. He was very drunk and wasn't fit to walk back to his office, so we kept him here. Besides, it's very dangerous going outside during the night." Nurse Joy said. Eddie nodded with everything she said, even though he knew it was all false. He wasn't sure why she was telling the kids this story, but he was very glad she was doing this.

Ash growls at Eddie, which causes the man to smile. "What's the matter boy? Why are you suddenly so angry at me? The last time we've met, I have done nothing wrong." Eddie said. Ash smirks. "Because we know why you really here and we're not going to let you terrorize this town. We're going to stop you before you hurt anyone." Ash said. Eddie chuckles. "What are you talking about? Terrorize the town? I wouldn't do that…well if they play nice." Eddie said. Ash snaps as he rushes over to the man and grabs his tie. He growls in rage. "Stop lying to me. We know about the monster, we know that you are planning on hurting everyone, and we won't let that happen. Tobias and the people of this town will stop you… I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HURT HER!" Ash whispered at first, but then yelled. Eddie blinked. The name Tobias was familiar, but everything else was confusing. "Monster? What are you talking about? The only 'monsters' I have are my Pokémon and they aren't powerful enough to be any real threat to this town or it's people. And I would never hurt Misty. She's feisty, but I wouldn't dare really hurt her. Maybe I would punch her if my anger gets too high around her, but nothing that bad." Eddie said with a smile. Ash growls, he was disgusted by the man's idea of something being 'not that bad'. He soon sees a bloody Misty with a large wound in her stomach. Ash closed his eyes to try and block the image. "Now if you excuse me, I have to get going." Eddie said before grabbing the boy's arm. Suddenly, electricity glows from the man's hand and the two boys were entrapped in electricity. Pikachu was knocked off his buddy by the electricity. Misty catches the mouse and then looks at the boy's in horror. They screamed in unison which catches other trainers' attention. Ash's friends rushed over to him while Nurse Joy gasped in horror. Ash holds his head as strange images filled his mind. They passed by so quickly that it was hard to tell what he was looking at. He could hear multiple voices in multiple tones. They blurred together that it was impossible to hear what they were even saying. All Ash knew that he was in a lot of pain. With Eddie, he was seeing and hearing the same things, although what they were, he didn't know either. Only one set of words could be understood among-st all the nonsense. "Edward Hyde." Eddie opened one eye and pulls his hand away from the boy. The electricity soon stops and Ash let's go of Eddie. They pant in unison. They were exhausted by whatever had happened.

"Um…Cilan, what just happened?" Tracy asked. Cilan sweats. "I don't know…but what ever happened was not good." Cilan said, equally as confused as the rest. Ash was the first to recover. He looked at Eddie with fear. Ash looks at the arm that Eddie touched. It was perfectly fine to his surprise. Ash looks at Eddie again, who had also recovered and was now looking at his hand in confusion. Ash snarled. "What…WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT WAS THAT!?" Ash roared mostly out of fear. Eddie looks at the boy, he was also scared. "I…I don't know…" Eddie said. He soon got up. "But…I have to go. I have to get out of here." Eddie said, and ran off. Ash hissed at the man as he passes past him. He soon felt a hand on his shoulder. Ash growls as he turns his head, but to his surprise, it was Misty who did that. She looked scared. Ash breathes heavily as he turns to the others. He soon took a deep breath and sighs. "I'm…I'm sorry for that…I don't know what gotten into me or what really happened. Eddie, he…he just enrages me, but I'm not sure why. I…I'm not even sure what Tobias said was even true." Ash said as he holds his head. Nurse Joy sighs. "I think I know what just happened." She said. This catches everyone off guard. "You do? Great, so what happened?" Misty asked, happy that they were going to get an answer to what just happened. However, Nurse Joy didn't look all that pleased about this. "Well, I say that Eddie isn't really a human." She whispered. This makes the group to very confused. "What? Why do you say that?" Iris said, utterly flabbergasted by this. Nurse Joy looks around, signals them to come closer, and then looks down. The gang walks closer to her until they were all together in a small circle. Nurse Joy smiles once they were close enough. "I said that because Eddie doesn't really act like a human. He's more like an animal than anything else. I don't know what Eddie really is since he is pretty smart, but whatever he is, it's not human. I also don't think it's a Pokémon either. No Pokémon I've met are this smart, this well versed in human langue, and can also talk like a human. The only creature I know of that is like that is…No. It couldn't be…I'm being silly." Nurse Joy said, backing off on something.

"What?! What is it?" Iris asked, not wanting Joy to back off on her conclusion. Nurse Joy sighs. "I…I fear that Eddie is actually our town's guardian, Xuchilbara." Nurse Joy said. This shocks the group. "What?" They all said at once. This surprises Joy. "You…know of Xuchilbara?" She whispered. The gang nodded. "Yes, but we don't know a lot about him. We heard of him thanks to our waitress at the Happy Burger…but isn't Xuchilbara supposed to be a Pokémon? And how could Eddie be him? Xuchilbara is said to be a kind spirit that hurts villains. Eddie is nothing like that." Iris said. Nurse Joy softly chuckles. "Oh, that's just the version of Xuchilbara we tell our children so they get used to him. To tell you the truth, Xuchilbara is unlike any Pokémon you've ever met. He is judgement. He can see things no one can normally see and can read people's minds like a psychic. He can be everywhere in town in the form of mist and can also have a single form. There can be multiples of him but they all have the same mind…He is, in a sense, a god." She whispered. The group was amazed by this. "Wow, that's pretty cool. This Xuchilbara creature sounds so cool…but why do you think this thing is Eddie?" Ash whispered. Nurse Joy sighs. "Xuchilbara is not a good creature despite doing good. He rapes and kills anything that gets in his way. He does punish sinners, but in order to do so, he twists the world to what he wants. I've never seen his work though, so I don't know what that vision is. I do know that the Unknown have very similar powers. They prefer to help people, although in a misguided manner, while Xuchilbara only punishes and he rarely ever gives mercy." She said. The group shivers. "Wow that Xuchilbara sounds like a monster. Why do you guys say he's your guardian?" Iris whispered, confused. Nurse Joy smiles. "Well, because he doesn't hurt the good people in the town and he doesn't hurt the town. When he's dealing with sinners, he creates another world, like this one but in his image. He's our protector in a loose term. He protects the town, but that doesn't mean he's a good creature." Nurse Joy whispered.

The group gulped. "So…if Eddie really is this monster of a protector, then why is he even here to being with?" Misty whispered, more scared of Eddie than she ever thought she would be. Nurse Joy sighs. "I don't know. We haven't heard from Xuchilbara for a very, very long time. What he's been through and why he came back is unknown to most of us. Only our highest priestesses know why." Nurse Joy said. Tracy held his chin. "Why do you have high priestesses in this town?" Tracy asked. Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, this is a very spiritual place, and to make sure the spirits are kept calm we train some of our young to be priestesses." Nurse Joy said. Iris nodded. "But then why does this town have so many bad vibes about it?" Iris asked. Nurse Joy sighs. "Because a horrible girl named Alessa disrupted the spirits once and made this town constantly have bad luck. If it wasn't for her and her father, then we wouldn't have the reports of nightmares and the like." Nurse Joy said which ketches Ash's attention. He soon remembered Alessa from his dream. He was confused by this. He sighed. "So…why am I connected to Xuchilbara? If I wasn't, I wouldn't have gotten drunk." Ash asked. He wanted to be distant on the Alessa story. Nurse Joy was surprised by this. "Oh…I didn't know…I did hear the high priestesses speaking of you highly, but…you as Xuchilbara. I just don't believe it. …You know what. I'm going to go talk with them and get this cleared up. You can go and play while I talk to them." She said. The group nodded. The gang soon left the Pokémon center and headed for the Amusement Park. After passing the main square, Ash thought back to that weird experience he and Eddie had. The name Edward Hyde rang in his head, even after all this time, and he didn't know why. He remembered his guardian, Luc, calling his inner demon that name, but could there be a connection? Ash sighs. 'What was up with those images and voices? Why were they even there? Who were they, what were they about? Ugh…Just ignore it. It was probably nothing…' Ash thought. His head still hurt from the experience. He soon felt a presence in his mind. _'Hello boy,'_ A gruff voice said to Ash. Ash sighed. This was the king of Pokelantis. A spirit who could not leave the boy's body and has been stuck inside of him for over two years now. The spirit has stolen his body a few times, but thankfully his friends never knew the difference, and Ash has always been able to get back in full control.

Ash internally sighs. 'Hello Satoshi, it's been quite a long time since you've last talked to me.' Ash said to the spirit. He had learned the man's real name a few months after he found out the spirit was still inside of him. Ash could hear a stratified 'hmph' from the voice. _'That stupid guardian of yours has kept me in your mind in that special cage you fear. It took some time and patience to get out, but I eventually did. I've been examining Eddie…something about him is…familiar. I know I've met him before, but my memory wanes on who he really is.'_ Pokelantis said. Ash was surprised by this. 'You have? Wait…how? I've never met him before, and he can't be from your time.' Ash thought, confused. _'Oh, he's from this time.…But something about him reminds me of you…I just don't know what…Whatever he is that electric shock surly spooked us, that's for sure._ You felt that too? _Yeah, and felt it, and heard it…so many voices…some familiar and some I've never heard before._ Satoshi…do…do you think Eddie is that Xuchilbara creature? _I don't know. Hell, I've never heard of it before…except from that ONE dream, you know the one._ Oh…yeah, that one dream, the one that Darkrai put us through. To tell you the truth, I hardly remember anything about it other than that weird ride thing and Alessa. For some reason those things won't go away. And now that I'm here and I've learned that Alessa is a part of this town, I have to wonder…have I've been to Unova before? I don't remember going here, but then again, I don't remember a lot of my past…he…kind of like you. _Grrr...Anyways, your 'friends' are looking at you.'_ Ash turns to his left and notices his friends were looking at him, and that he was standing at one of the piers. Ash rushes back to his friends and bows. "I'm so sorry. I was just distracted by what had happened that I nearly lost track of where I was going. I hope you aren't too mad." Ash said. His friends sigh. "No Ash. We're not mad. but you have to be more careful. You could have fallen into the lake." Misty said. Ash nodded.

The group soon walked to the entrance of the amusement park which was several feet from the docks. It took some time to get there, but eventually they reached the entrance of the amusement park. Ash and his friends pay for entrance and enter the park. They looked around the place and see how colorful and cheerful everyone was. Ash smiles, but he felt like he had been here before. Ash soon noticed a mascot approach them. "Hello little kids. I'm Robbie the Pikachu. How are you doing?" A man's voice came out of the costume. Ash and the others smile. "Good. We're here for the tournament." Ash said as he rubs his Pikachu's chin. 'Robbie' claps his hands. "Good. Good. Mr. Danvers is having a big speech near the fairest wheel. You should go watch." The Mascot said. The gang nodded. "It's right this way." Robbie said as he pointed to his left. They turned their heads and saw a huge fairest wheel. "Thanks." Iris said. The group soon walked towards the ride. "Good. Good. I'm so happy to help." Robbie said. Suddenly Eddie walked up to him. Robbie turned around. "Oh hello Mr. Jackal…hey, you don't look that well. Are you okay?" Robbie asked. Eddie was looking away from the mascot and was hiding his hands in his coat pockets. Eddie looked worn down and angry. Eddie turns to the mascot and smiles. "Of course. I'm just nervous because I have to talk to the people today." Eddie said. The mascot was confused by this. "Really? I didn't hear any announcements about you giving a speech today at the park." Robbie said as people walked in and out of the park. Eddie smirked. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Not a lot of people like me, so why not talk to them." Eddie said. The Mascot nodded. "Sure. But…Mr. Danvers has a speech today at the stage in less than an hour. You'll have to wait until he's done to make yours." Robbie said. Eddie smirks. "Sure…" Eddie said, then walked off. "Wait! You don't know where the stage is!" Robbie yelled. Eddie chuckles. "Oh I know. It's near the fairest wheel. Now goodbye." Eddie said as he continued to walk.

Once far away enough from the Pikachu mascot, and when there was hardly anyone around, Eddie pulls out his hands. They looked like a beast's as they were very hairy, had claws for his fingertips, and were pretty large. He growls as he looks at them. 'That boy is going to pay for doing this to me….whatever it was. He may act like a good boy, but he's just as bad as me.' Eddie thought. He soon put his hands away. 'Still…how do I know this boy? Why does he know me? Why did he accuse me of terrorizing the town when I haven't done that?' Eddie sighs. 'Just ignore it. Soon I will make these people love me and I'll have this town…but…why do I even want it? …NO! Don't doubt your goals! They're all I have! Without them I'm nothing!' Eddie holds his head. It was getting harder and harder to think straight. He breathes heavily and notices he was nearing Ash's group. He looked at Ash and softly growls. 'That boy was the one to make me confused. If it wasn't for him, I would be fine…' Eddie smiles as an awful idea comes to him. Back with our heroes, Ash was looking at the area where Eddie touched him. He wasn't sure why he was looking at it since nothing was different about it, he just was. "Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked. Ash sighs. "I'm not sure. My head is starting to hurt again." Ash said as he uses his other hand to touch his head. "Maybe you're hangover is returning." Tracy guessed. Ash looks at him. "Can they do that?" Ash asked. The group shrugged. "I don't know. Nurse Joy didn't say they could. But she did say that it would be over by noon thanks to the medicine I gave you." Misty said. This intrigues Ash. "Well, what time is it?" Ash asked. Tracy pulls out a cellphone. "It's 10:21." Tracy said. Ash groans. "Great. I'm still having my hangover…though it's odd that I haven't been feeling any real effects. Things are a little louder than normal, but other than that, nothing." Ash said, confused. Iris shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Soon enough it will be gone, and since you'll never drink alcohol again, then you don't have to worry." Iris said. Ash thought for a moment before smiling. "Yeah. You're right." He said.

They soon heard a soft chuckle. The group stops and turns around to see Eddie. Ash growls. "Hello Eddie." Iris coldly said. Eddie walks up to the group. "Hello, 'friends'. I've got to say that it's a 'wonderful' day. Isn't it?" Eddie said. Misty sneers at Eddie. "What do you want?" Misty asked. Eddie soon pulls his hands out of his outfit, showing the group his monstrous hand. They all gasped in shock. "Revenge, of course. After I left the Pokémon Center, my hands transformed into this thing and have been slowly transforming the rest of my body into it. Now I'm here to get my revenge." Eddie said. Ash and Pikachu got into a fighting stance. "Alright, if it's a battle you want, then it's fine by me." Ash said. Eddie chuckles as he pulls out a Pokeball. "Sure. How about a one on one? Whoever loses will be paying for all the rides we play." Eddie said. The group blinked except for Ash, who smiled. "Sure." He said as a crowd began to form around them. However, Misty suddenly stepped between them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! HOLD UP! Ash, this isn't a proper place to battle. There are too many people who could get hurt. Plus, why would Eddie want to pay for the rides we ride if he loses?" Misty asked. Eddie smirks. "Because I'm joining you guys while we're here. It'll be fun." Eddie childishly said. The group was weirded out by this. "Really? After what happened? Plus you said you wanted your 'revenge', how would that help you?" Ash asked, confused. Eddie chuckled. "Because I'm not going to lose." Eddie said. However, Misty soon looked at him. "HEY! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT WE'RE IN AN AMUSEMENT PARK'S CENTER! THIS ISN'T THE PLACE FOR A BATTLE!" Misty yelled. Eddie blinked a few seconds in surprise before smiling. "We'll fight near the fairest wheel. My 'agents' have told me that it's clear enough for a battle right now." Eddie said. The gang nodded. They all soon transferred to near the front of the fairest wheel. It was mostly deserted except for the crowd that followed the gang. The crowd fond a few safe spots to sit and watch the battle as the two boys faced against each other. Tracy was the referee for this match as the others sat down on some benches that were nearby. "Alright, the match of Ash Ketchum and Eddie Jackal is about to begin. This will be a one on one battle with no items. Are the trainers ready?" Tracy asked as he raised his arms separately as he told the trainers' names. The boys smiled. "YEAH!" They both said. Tracy nodded. "Then let the match begin!"

(To be continued in ch. 5)


	6. Chapter 5

ch. 5

 **Sorry the long delays. I've been very busy with college. Hopefully I can at least post a few more chapters before October is over.**

"Alright Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash yelled out in confidence as the battle begins. He wasn't going to let himself lose to this monster. Pikachu jumps onto the field and began punching the air. Eddie chuckles. "So you are using your partner. Fine, here is mine! Ariados, I choose you!" Eddie yelled as he throws his Pokeball. The ball let out a white light, but something about was wrong, but no one knows what was wrong about it. Soon the bug Pokémon appeared on the field. It was red with black strips, had four legs and two antennas like legs on its back that were both yellow and purple strip, it had a yellow stinger on its butt with two black dots, it had purple eyes, it had two large white fangs for a mouth, and it had a huge white horn on its head. Misty freezes in fear at the bug creature. 'Why did he have to use bugs?' She mentally panicked inside as she hides behind Iris. Iris and Cilan were a bit confused by this, but soon realized that she was afraid of bug Pokémon just like how Iris is afraid of Ice Pokémon. Back on the field, Ash smirks as he looks at Ariados. "Alright, Pikachu use electro ball." Ash ordered. Pikachu jumps up and forms a ball of electricity. It soon fires the attack by flinging the ball away. Eddie chuckles. "Dodge and use night shade." Eddie ordered. Ariados dodges by dashing away from the attack. It then glares at Pikachu and dark energy spews out of its eyes. "Use quick attack to dodge those things." Ash ordered. Pikachu soon gathered energy and soon had a white aura around it. It soon rushes forward in an incredible speed that he could barely be seen. Pikachu dodges the night shade and soon rams its body into the spider. "GO ASH!" Iris and Cilan cheered. Ash smirked as the spider stumbles back. Eddie growls. "Use string shot and pull him towards you! Then use bug bite!" Eddie ordered. Ariados steadies itself. "Dodge it and then use Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu dodges the string by stepping to the side, but Ariados fired another round. Pikachu jumps over the sticky string and rushes towards the spider. The spider fires the string again, but this time it hits the rodent. Pikachu was soon stuck in a bundle of webbing. Even his tail was covered in web so it couldn't use Iron tail to get out. Eddie smiles as Ariados grabs Pikachu and uses its massive jaws to bite on Pikachu. Pikachu screams in pain which caused Ash to get really angry.

Ash growls in rage. "Use THUNDERBOLT!" Ash ordered. Eddie froze for a second in fear as the mouse charged up his attack. Pikachu lets out a powerful close-range thunderbolt that encompasses the spider. It shrieks in pain, which opens its jaws. Pikachu escapes from the jaws and stops its attack. Pikachu glares at the shacking spider. It takes one step closer before falling down to the ground. It's eyes turning into swirls showing that it was unconscious. Pikachu and Ash sigh in relief. "Ariados is unable to battle. The winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." Tracy said. Ash cheers as Pikachu rushes into his arms. Meanwhile, Eddie looked at Ariados in horror. 'No…NO! This…this was supposed to happen! I was supposed to be the winner! I was supposed to show him that I was stronger…he…he cheated. He had to! No Pikachu is that strong.' Eddie thought as his mind became bitter. Soon Ash's celebration was cut short by Eddie's growling. Everyone looks at Eddie who was returning his Ariados to its Pokeball. Eddie glares at Ash in rage. "Cheater." Eddie mumbled as he puts away his Pokeball, but everyone could hear that. Ash growled. "What did you call me?" Ash angrily asked. Eddie wanted to be happy about angering Ash, but he was too caught up in his own rage to care. "CHEATER! I CALLED YOU A CHEATER! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO WIN! I WAS SUPPOSED TO!" Eddie roared, his teeth had grown larger and were sharper than normal. He holds himself and mumbles, "I was supposed to win. I'm better than you. I deserved to win." Ash was taken aback by this before growling. "NO, YOU DON'T! You… you're a monster! You're nothing but a monster who's trying to hurt everyone! You don't deserve to win!" Ash yelled. Eddie growls as he glares at Ash. Suddenly he snaps and rushes towards the boy. Suddenly the two boys were on the ground with Eddie top of Ash. Eddie was grabbing onto Ash's jacket. Ash looked into Eddie's eyes and was horrified. Eddie was now exactly like the monster that hunted him in his dreams. Eddie looks at Pikachu and pulls him out of Ash's hands. Before Pikachu could react, the monster throws him to the sides. Eddie soon grabbed Ash's neck, and electricity soon consumed the boys. Ash screamed in pain, but Eddie was just laughing like a madman.

Ash's friends rushed towards the boys, while Pikachu got up. Pikachu rushes towards Eddie and uses Iron Tail on one of the monster's arms. Eddie recoils in pain, but keeps his other arm on the boy's neck. Eddie looks at Pikachu but his eyes were different. They were kinder, softer, oddly auburn, and reminded the Pikachu of Ash. Meanwhile, Ash had his eyes closed and was still screaming in pain. Pikachu was now on the ground next to the boys. Pikachu shakes his head. Whatever Eddie was doing to make him look more sympathetic was just a trick. Eddie is a monster and is hurting Ash. Pikachu soon uses quick attack to slam himself into Eddie's chest to knock him off of Ash. It works and Eddie is sent to the ground. Ash's friends pick Ash up and keep him steady. Ash opens his eyes and for a few seconds they were emerald green like Eddie's, but they soon returned to their normal coloring. Ash looks at Eddie who was on the ground, holding his chest. He sneers at the boy as he wobbles back up. Eddie growls in rage, and Ash equally growled back. Suddenly the gang noticed some security guards walking up to them. "Mr. Jackal, you are disturbing the peace of this place and were trying to hurt a boy. We are forced to make you leave." One of them said. Eddie soon became fearful. Oddly, Ash felt fear enter his mind. Ash tried to sweep it away, but he couldn't. Eddie turns around and steps back. "NO! I'm supposed to speak today. I'm supposed to make these people love me. YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!" Eddie yelled. The guards frowned. "Only Mr. Danvers is supposed to speak today, and with this distraction, it's delaying him. Now please, you need to leave." The other guard said. Eddie looks at the crowd. They were terrified by the man. Eddie looks back at the guards as he holds himself tighter. Ash could feel his heart rate rise with Eddie's fear. Ash felt sorry for the thing, but he knew he shouldn't be. Eddie did this to himself, so why should he care about this monster? Ash holds his head. The fear was so powerful, he could barely control himself. Ash looks at Eddie who was also struggling with his fears. "Ash, what's the matter? What's wrong?" Iris asked. Ash shocked his head as he tried to clear his head. He soon noticed Eddie was looking at them. He looked terrible as his face was now growing hair. Eddie holds his head before he roars in pain. This scared everyone but Ash, who also wanted to roar in pain as well, but had enough control to stop himself.

Eddie soon jumps over the guards and runs away, using all four of his limbs to run. Ash holds himself as he resists the urge to follow Eddie. Some of the guards rushed after Eddie while the rest walked up to Ash. The fear and rage was yelling at the boy to get away, but Ash stayed still. He wasn't going to let these odd emotions control him. Ash soon notices Tobias walking out of the crowd. Ash was surprised by this, and felt his heart racing in fear. Ash breathes heavily to keep himself calm. "Are you okay, Mr. Ketchum? If you need to, we could take you to the hospital." The officers said. Ash puts on a smile. "No. I'm fine…thanks anyways." Ash said, but the gang could see the fear in his eyes. One of the guards tilted his head. "You sure? You don't look all that well." The first officer said. Ash smiles. "Yes! NOW GO AWAY!" Ash blurted out. This freaks the gang out. "O-okay. If you insist, besides, we need to hunt down Eddie. He's too dangerous now." One of the officers said. Soon they walked away as the crowd began to clear up. Ash sighs in relief. His fears were easing up. "You sure you're okay?" Iris asked. This causes Ash to genially smile at her. "Yeah…but for some reason, I was feeling what Eddie was feeling when he was near. Thankfully, that's over." Ash said with a smile. This intrigues the gang and Tobias. "Really? Man, whatever that electricity attack did to you must have temporally connected your and his emotions. However, I can't think of any attack that could do that nor any reason why it would start turning Eddie into that beast form." Tracy said, confused. Cilan and Misty nodded. Tobias smirked. "Oh, I know why that happened, but talking about it here could scare everyone." Tobias said. The gang except for Ash turned around and saw the man. "Tobias? What are you doing here?" Cilan asked. Tobias smirked. "Well, I heard Eddie was in the Pokémon center, so I was on my way there, but I soon saw him leave the center. Wanting to know where he was going, I followed him here." Tobias said. The gang blinked except for Ash who was enraged by this. "WHAT!? WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?" Ash asked, enraged. Tobias sighed. "I couldn't. There were a lot of people around. Remember, no one is supposed to know that he's dangerous. If I arrested him while I was following him, people would panic…but it looks like that idea was moot after what I saw him do to you and what he turned into." Tobias said.

The group was surprised by this. "Wait, you know what was going on with Eddie and Ash? If so, then what was it?" Tracy asked. Tobias looked around. "Not here. There are too many people." Tobias said. The gang titled their heads. "Then where?" Misty asked. Tobias smiled. "Follow me. I have a hotel room, we can discuss about Eddie there." Tobias said. The gang nodded. Tobias soon began walk away and the gang began to follow the man. Ash looked back at the stage that was near the ferries wheel as they walked. Mr. Danvers' campaign thing had started, and a lot of the people who watched the fight were now watching the campaign. Ash sighs. He kind of wanted to watch it, but he knew learning more about Eddie and Xuchilbara was the smarter thing to do. Ash looks ahead of Tobias and thinks about Eddie. He still felt sorry for the man, but he didn't know why or why he and Eddie were temporarily connected. Ash sighs. 'Hopefully Tobias can explain everything.' Ash thought. After navigating out of the park, the gang and Tobias walked to a hotel that was near the bar where they first met Tobias, and entered Tobias' room. It was the pretty large and looked very clean and proper. The most of gang sits down on a nearby coach; however Ash and Misty had to sit in some chairs because there wasn't enough room on the coach. Tobias sits down on a stool and faces the group. "Okay, now that we're away from the crowd, could you please tell us what happened?" Misty asked, getting annoyed by the constant lack of answers. Tobias nodded. "Well, the first thing I learned is that Eddie doesn't really have a big monster he controls. That was a mistake on my part. It turns out that he is really the monster. I just didn't connect the dots until now. However, usually he's in control of that monstrous form, but something changed…and I think it has to do with you, Ash." Tobias said. This surprises and confuses the gang. "Really?" Ash asked, confused. He was petting Pikachu who was now on his lap. Tobias nodded. "Yes. But it's not really you Ash, who did it. It is the power you unknowingly contain. You see, you are the town guardian, Xuchilbara. And that untapped power punished Eddie for foolishly using the town's power against itself. It also hurts you too because you are not strong enough to control it's powers." Tobias said. The group was shocked by this. "WHAT!?" They all yelled at once. They just couldn't believe it. They looked at Ash. "But Nurse Joy said that the town guardian was a god. How can Ash be the guardian? He's no god." Misty asked, utterly confused.

"There must be some mistake." Iris agreed with Misty. Tobias shocked his head. "No. There's no mistake. Ash is the reincarnation of Xuchilbara, but you shouldn't take that to mean that Xuchilbara is a god. Yes he is powerful and cruel, but he is like any legendary, bonded by what he can and can't do. And this legendry's soul was somehow trapped inside of Ash. I do not know how such a creature's soul could be trapped in a human body, but it happened, and that is why you were chosen for this tournament, Ash Ketchum. Because of this connection." Tobias said. This deflates Ash's ego. "What? It's not because I'm a hero or a good trainer?" Ash asked. Tobias smirked. "Oh, those things did convince the judges to allow you into the tournament, but the real reason you are here is because of that spirit. We want to release it and make things okay again." Tobias said. Cilan tilted his head. "But why Ash? Why did this guardian choose Ash as it's host?" Cilan asked. Ash nodded. He was equally as confused as to why he was chosen. Tobias sighs. "I'm not sure. All I know is that the spirit is inside of Ash, trapped by some unknown forced, and it can only be released by the spiritual powers of this town." Tobias said. The gang didn't like this at all. "So all you have to do is unleash the spirit, then why didn't you talk to me about it earlier?" Ash asked. Tobias sighs. "Because the preparations for said ritual aren't complete yet, and we have to wait for the tournament is over, that way you don't have to miss it. Besides, we have to deal with Eddie, remember." Tobias said. The gang nodded. "Okay, once I'm done with the tournament, I'll do this ritual thing." Ash said. Tobias smiles. "Good." He said. The gang stood up. "Is that all you wanted to tell us?" Misty asked. Tobias smiled. "No. There's one more thing I have to tell you." He said. The gang sit down and groan. "What is it?" Iris asked in annoyance. Axew agrees. Tobias looks at Ash. "Ash, Eddie is more dangerous than ever. And he will be after you as revenge. He will want to hurt you even more than before and will do many dirty tricks to do so. You need to be careful and make sure you don't touch him again. He drains a bit of your soul and consumes it for himself. I'm not sure how he does this, but he's more powerful than normal." Tobias said.

"But Eddie's now acting like a beast, how can he plan for revenge?" Misty asked. Tobias sighs. "It's temporary. He'll soon regain his conscious mind and return to his 'normal' self." Tobias said. The gang gulped. "Well, you'd better go capture him then." Iris said. Tobias nodded. The gang soon got up. "Well, we shouldn't distract you from your hunt." Misty said. Tobias smiled. "Yes. See you." He said. The gang said goodbye and then walked out of the hotel. They walked back to the amusement park and back to the stage near the fairest wheel. To their shame, Mr. Danvers' speech was over. "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. I bet it was boring anyways." Ash said as he tried to lighten the tone. The group nodded. Suddenly they noticed some bug Pokémon walking to the stage. The gang soon watched them begin to decorate the stage. The gang except for Misty was confused by this development, while Misty was just terrified. What were they doing? Ash soon noticed some people walking up to the seats. All of them were holding fliers and were confused. Tracy turns to one of them. "Um, excuse me, Sir, but what's going on?" Tracy asked. The man Tracy was talking to was fairly pudgy and had been looking at the stage in confusion. He resembled the posters of Markham Danvers, but it could be just a coincidence. The man huffed. "I'm not entirely sure. Some bug Pokémon have been handing out fliers. They were about a speech made by Eddie Jackal that would be happening soon, which is weird since the last time people saw him, he was running like an animal. I've already called the guards, so they should be coming soon." The man said, confused. This intrigues the group. "How do you know that this wasn't pre-planned by Eddie?" Cilan asked. The man smirked. "Because I was the last one to have a speech here and there were no plans for Eddie to talk after I was done. Plus one of them was his Ariados, which was knocked out by the raven haired boy." The man said. The group gasp in surprise. "Then that means…YOU'RE Markham Danvers!" Ash yelled in shock. However, none of the crowd was really that surprised by this. The man smiled. "Why yes. Yes, I am." He said. The gang gasped in shock. The man chuckled. "You must be very new in town if you don't know what I look like." He said. The gang nodded. They soon looked at the stage. It was fully decorated in the bug's string shot, and the front of the stage was covered by a large sticky web, so it would difficult for the guards to get to Eddie. The lights soon light up and the web rose like a curtain, and there on center stage was Eddie. He had returned to normal like Tobias said, but his clothes were an utter mess. Ash's friends hid away from the man's sight but Ash didn't. He wanted to see what Eddie was planning.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen. My name is Edward Jackal, but you may call me Eddie. Not only am I a fellow trainer like yourselves, but I'm also a candidate for the mayoral election." He said, his words sounding calm and controlled. Ash looked at the man in awe. He didn't know why he was in awe, but he was. Suddenly, in Ash's eyes, the man switched from being Eddie to another man. He was taller, had warmer redder eyes, his clothes were now black and clean, and his hair was brown, shorter, and very slick. Ash steps back in confusion as the vision returns to Eddie. Ash holds his head as Eddie continued to talk. "For years, many of this town's money are relied on trainers. However, other than the big tournament that's going on right now, there aren't a lot of things to interest neither them nor other people. Sure it's pretty, but prettiness alone won't save the town. For many of you who don't know, it's dying. Tales of Boogeymen, nightmares, and the infamous bus ticket prices have been slowly draining people's desire to go to the town. But if you vote for me, then these things will disappear forever. Well, except for the bus prices, but they will be lowered to a very reasonable price." He said. The crowd looked like they were swaying towards Eddie's ideas. Eddie smiled. Suddenly Mr. Danvers spoke out. "But isn't it true that you attacked this here boy and turned into a monster? How can we trust you if you can become a violent and despicable creature?" Danvers asked. Eddie looked up and sees the boy. His eyes shrank in rage as he remembers what the boy did to him. Eddie closed his eyes. 'No, stay calm. Stay calm. They'll never love you if you burst into another rage attack.' Eddie thought to himself. However the urge to do so was hard to control. "Answer me, Mr. Hyde." Danvers said. Eddie and Ash opened their eyes and looked at Mr. Danvers in fear. "How…how do you know that name?" They both asked. The crowd and Ash's friends was just confused by this. "Don't fool me. I know about the infamous killer of London." He said. Ash and Eddie froze in fear while everyone else was confused and scared. "Killer?" One man asked in fear. This really scares the people around him. "What does he mean by that?" Another asked. A woman shrugs at this. "Do you think this Eddie guy is this killer?" Another woman asked. A little girl looks at her. "I don't know." Another girl replied.

Eddie and Ash breathe heavily, but Eddie soon chuckled. "What are you talking old man? London? I've never heard of such a place before. Besides, I'm no killer. What happened with that…boy was not my doing. HE forced me into being that thing. But as you can see, I'm all better." Eddie said. Ash wanted to protest, but he knew Eddie was right about that. He wasn't sure about the other stuff though, or how a murderer from another country could also have the same name as the monstrous side of Ash. But he probably saw it in a newspaper and his guardian just gave the monster the same name as him. "Oh yeah, then why was he was only one in pain?" Danvers asked. The gang blinked. It was true. If Ash was doing the attack like Tobias said, then Ash shouldn't feel any pain. Plus Eddie was laughing so he knew what was going on. Eddie took a step forward. "Easy. The attack effected both of us, but I was able to past through the pain to laugh. That's all." Eddie said. Danvers smiled. "Okay, I'll give you that, but…why were you laughing in the first place?" Danvers asked. Eddie froze in fear. The crowd was interested in his response. Eddie began to sweat. Ash looks at Danvers. How did he know so much about the event? Did Tobias tell him? No, that couldn't be it. Tobias was talking to them. But then again the walk back to the amusement park was kind of long. Long enough for Tobias to call and tell him. Ash holds his head. It was starting to hurt. Eddie soon growled in rage. "ENOUGH OF YOU'RE TALK! YOU DARE TO TALK TO ME! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BACKSTABBING FOOL! YOU DARE TO FOLLOW THE LORD, BUT PLAN ON RUINING EVERYTHING THEY BUILT! THIS TOWN WILL BE DESTROYED IF YOU DON'T QUITE THE ELECTION AND YOUR PRODUCT NOW! AND IF ANY OF YOU DARE TO VOTE FOR ANYONE ELSE BUT ME, YOU TOO WILL FACE MY WRATH!" Eddie yelled, scaring everyone in the crowd. Eddie soon covered his mouth. 'Nonononononono! This wasn't supposed to happen! I wasn't supposed to make them fear me. Where did that rant even come from? I know nothing about the man other than he's one of my rivals in the election. I don't even know the history of the town other than what Iris told me…wait, who's IRIS?' Eddie backed off. He was so confused now. Ash's friends soon rush to their friend who was now glaring at Danvers. Eddie looks at Ash. 'Ash…he's…he's the one who knows these people. He somehow connected himself to me during the weird electrical thing and is now messing with me. First he takes Misty and now he's trying to take over my soul. Well, I won't let it! I'll make him suffer.' Eddie thought. However it was soon interrupted by the police coming from the entrance of stage.

Eddie looked at his bug Pokémon. "Stall them! I won't be captured by these losers!" Eddie ordered. The bug Pokémon obeyed and fired various attacks at the guards. The guards dodge and call out their own Pokémon. Eddie soon runs off the stage. "Drop the stage, boys!" Eddie ordered as he runs past the terrified crowd. The Pokémon holding the curtain soon let go of one end so that the curtain could trap any creature that didn't see it coming. Once Eddie was up the stairs into Ash's view, Ash snaps out of his glare against Mr. Danvers and runs after Eddie. 'Whatever Eddie did to make me focus on Mr. Danvers has finally worn off. Now I can finally focus on this monster. Edward Hyde…that name is important. I know it… Wait…could it be?' Ash thought as he rushes after the man. The man was now rushing past several people, so Ash couldn't use Pikachu to slow the man down without also risking other people's lives. Ash soon sees Eddie rush into a small shed near the food stands. Ash rushes into the shed and closes the door. Ash was now facing at Eddie's back, who was panting in fear. Ash growled. "I know who you are now." Ash said. Pikachu jumps off of Ash's shoulder and sparks began to form on the rodent's cheeks. The man chuckles. "Oh yeah. So, who am I?" He asked. Ash smirked. "You're that murderer from that London place. You came here to hide and gain power. And you've got that power through the ritual Tobias planned for me. To 'awaken', this guardian inside of me. But you interfered and took some of my power, and now you want more. You didn't know it at the time, but that first electrical thing was you taking that power. And once you learned that, you did again. However, you didn't see the consequence of you turning into a beast. It only last a short time because I wasn't at full strength. But now you're going to pay for all you've done. And this time, there's no way out." Ash said. Eddie holds his head, then screams in pain. It was a scream that curdled Ash's and Pikachu's stomach. After a while, Eddie fell to the floor. Ash and Pikachu were surprised and confused by this. "Um…what just happened?" Ash asked Pikachu. Pikachu stands up, turns to his trainer, and lower his ears. "Chu…" It said. Ash sighed. 'Well, at least we didn't need to battle him.' Ash thought. Ash soon walks up to the fallen man. Ash kneels and was about to pick up the man when he suddenly started to laugh. Ash holds himself. Why was he laughing? Ash soon notices that Eddie was laughing too. 'What the?' Ash asked as Eddie stood up. Eddie soon turns to Ash, and the boy stopped laughing.

Ash was now terrified as he looked into Eddie's eyes. They were soulless and dark. And on the man's face was a monstrous smile. "Oh, you were so close to solving the case. So close, and yet so far. If only you didn't get ALL of your information from Tobias and Danvers, then you might have been able to stop this. But alas, you were too trusting of a stranger like always. No wonder Team Rocket can trick you so easily. You're so gullible." Eddie said. Ash stands up in rage as Pikachu jumps between the boys. Ash growls. "What are you talking about?" Ash asked, confused and angry. Eddie chuckles. "Oh, about the truth about me. But if you hadn't forced me to accept the truth, I would still be foolishly trying to just control this town. Thank you for reminding me of what I truly am." He said. This only confuses Ash even more. "What?" Ash said, more confused now than ever. Eddie chuckles. "It looks like you're still as slow as ever. Okay, then let me explain. Yes, I once was Edward Hyde, but that was a long, long, long time ago. So long, I'm surprised Mr. Danvers even knew who that was or what London was. Anyways, I'm not Edward anymore. I am you. However, that original personality creeped in a few times, like when Satoshi and us were first meeting each other. But the first REAL time it appeared was during your wait for the Battle Pyramid leader to return. You foolishly thought you could be free of your darkness and let it consumed you which in turn released me. But Satoshi returned us back to you. But now I'm free again, and it's all thanks to that 'guardian' you have. And honestly, you should be afraid of it. Turning into it is something you DON'T want to happen. After all, remember what Nurse Joy said. It's a murderous, raping, destructive MONSTER. In fact, it's almost like me. Do you really want that to happen? After all, you see me as a freak, and as something that caused dear daddy to run away. Do you think this 'guardian' is any better?" Eddie asked. Ash held his head as Pikachu just looked at him like he said he was a walnut or something equally as crazy. Ash soon remembered all the horrible things he did to the king of Pokelantis.

Ash opened his eyes in fear as he looked at Eddie. "No…NO! I don't want that at all… It's impossible for you to be me! You're real!" Ash said, confused and scared. Eddie chuckled. "Yes. But that's because this place can make monsters real. It has an energy that no other town has. And it's power is locked inside of us. So what will you do now?" He said. Ash holds his head. 'NO! He's not me! He's not me! He's…he's lying. YES! He's lying. He's just saying all of this so he won't go to jail. I'm not a monster! I'm NOT A MONSTER!' Ash growls as he became more confident that what Eddie told him was just another lie. "NO! You're lying! I'm not you! You're NOT ME! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY BEFORE ANYONE GETS HURT AGAIN!" Ash roared. Eddie sighed. "Poor, poor little boy. You're too scared of the truth. Just accept me, then we can leave and go home." He said as stepped forward. Ash backed off, but was pulled in as Eddie grabbed his jacket. Eddie soon smirked. "G-get away from me!" Ash yelled in a panic. Pikachu jumps up, but was soon back handed into a cabin. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled in fear. Eddie soon slapped him, which was painful, but it didn't cause any electricity. Ash looks at the man in fear. Eddie chuckles. "What's the matter boy, scared of me?" He threatened. Tears fell down Ash's face as he whimpers in fear. "Ash!? ASH!?" The voices of Ash's friends called out. "ASH, WHERE ARE YOU!?" Misty called out. Ash turned his head, ready to call out, but Eddie soon grabbed his neck and made him turn to him. "Oh don't bother. You know you belong to me." Eddie said. Ash was about to protest, when Eddie puts his lips on Ash's. Ash screams as tries to get away from this monster, but the man had a tight grip on him. Ash felt a bit him relax, as if a part of him was succumbing to the monster. Ash shocked his head. 'No! This is wrong! I can't lose! I can't be defeated by him!' Ash yelled to himself. However, he felt more of himself relaxing. 'What's the matter with me? Why is my body doing this to me? Why aren't the powers of the guardian blasting him or something?' Ash asked himself. He was so confused. Ash soon noticed Pikachu getting up. He wanted to smile, but he couldn't with this creep still on him. Ash was having trouble breathing now. Pikachu shakes his head and looks up. He was horrified seeing not only this monster holding Ash as a prisoner, but also the fact that two 'boys' were kissing each other.

Pikachu shakes his head and soon rams into Eddie's chest. Eddie gets pushed off of Ash with great force and is thrown into a cabinet. Eddie grunts in pain as Ash gasps for breath. Ash looks at the door. "Gu-guys, I'm in here!" Ash yelled as best as he could. He wanted to vomit. He felt so sick by what Eddie did to him. Yes it was only a simple long kiss, but it was the only real kiss the boy ever had. The only kiss that wasn't on his cheeks or wasn't in a dream. This…this was real. Ash shivers as Eddie gets up. Eddie growls at the mouse that was now in a fighting position. Suddenly the door swung open to show the guards. Ash turns around and smiles. Finally some help. Eddie froze in fear. Ash turns to Eddie and chuckles. "Looks like you're reign of terror is over." Ash said. He felt so happy that this monster was finally going to pay for what he did. Eddie smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't think so." Eddie said, then pulls out a smoke ball. "The fun has just begun." He then throws it to the ground and suddenly smoke consumed the room. Everyone coughed. Ash covered his mouth and squint his eyes, but all he saw was smoke. Ash suddenly felt hands grab him from behind. "Don't worry Ash. You'll soon see that there is no escape from me." Eddie's voice said. Ash looked behind him, but saw nothing but smoke. Soon the hands let go him but there were no hands behind him. As the smoke faded, Eddie's laugh could be heard, but he was nowhere to be seen. Ash looked around in rage. "Where did he go? WHERE DID HE GO!?" Ash yelled in rage. The guards sighed. "I don't know. But he somehow got past us." One of the guards said. He turns to the group which was behind the guards. "Hey, did you see where he went?" He asked. The kids blinked. "No one left the building. We would have noticed it if he did." Iris said. This causes the cops to be even more confused. "But he's not in the room anymore…so how did he escape?" The other guard said. Ash growled as he holds himself. "I DON'T CARE HOW! WE HAVE TO FIND HIM! HE HAS TO PAY FOR WHAT HE'S DONE!" Ash roared. He soon felt Pikachu touch his leg. Ash looks down, about to growl when he notices it was Pikachu. Ash holds his head as he breathes heavily. 'S-stay calm. E-everything will be alright. Eddie will be caught and will pay for what he did. Just…just calm down.' Ash thought to himself. He felt so scared and angry that he didn't noticed the guards leaving the room. Misty walks up to the boy. "Ash, why are you suddenly so angry? What happened?" Misty asked. Ash looked at her and saw the confusion on her face. Ash holds himself. He could still feel Eddie all over him and he could still taste Eddie's lips. Ash was disgusted by himself. How could he ever let the monster so close? He should've known to keep the door open so his friends wouldn't have to search for him, but he didn't. He wanted to slap himself for being so stupid.

"Ash, please. What happened to you when you and Eddie were alone?" Misty asked, still as confused as ever. Ash sighed. He had to tell them. "Eddie…he…he k…kissed me." Ash said before spitting on the ground. His friends looked at him with shock and confusion. "He what now?" Iris asked, utterly baffled by what Ash said. Ash looked down. "H…he kissed me and said I was his…I…I was so scared. I thought I would never get away from him." Ash said, honestly scared. This scares and confuses the group. "B-but I thought Eddie loved me…why would he suddenly want you?" Misty said, very confused and a bit miffed, although she would never admit the jealousy. Ash holds his head. "I don't know. Once I knew who he really was, he suddenly began rambling about him being a part of me. I…I don't know why he was suddenly lying to me, but he became more menacing as a result." Ash said. The gang blinked. "So who is the real Eddie?" Tracy asked. Ash smiled. "Well, he's that murderer Mr. Danvers talked about. He came here to escape the cops and to try and take over the town." Ash said. The gang gasped. "Are you sure about it?" Iris asked. Ash nodded. The group gulped. "Well that doesn't make things easier. Now we know that he's an actual murderer and not just a jerk." Misty said. Tracy nodded. Cilan soon noticed that Ash wasn't looking all that well. "Ash, why don't we go back to the Pokémon Center? You don't look well." Cilan said. Ash shocked his head. "N-no. I-I'm fine. I…I just need a little break from thinking about Eddie." Ash said. The gang nodded. They were equally tired of worrying about Eddie. Misty turned to the food stalls. "Why don't we have lunch now? It'll help us regain our energy, then we'll go out and play some games." She said. The gang nodded in agreement. They soon went to the various shops, each getting their own meal. Once they each got it, they all heralded up at a table, unleashed all their Pokémon, gave them some Pokémon food, and began to eat. However, Ash was oddly eating slowly, but after what he had been through it was understandable. Once they finished eating, Ash looked at Misty's Pokémon. There was Corsola, Psyduck, Azumarill, Dewgong, Starmie, and Vaporeon. Ash was surprised that she got a Vaporeon, but he guess she got an Eevee from Gary. Meanwhile, Misty ogles Oshawott, who was really happy by this.

Once they finished eating, the gang returned their Pokémon and get up. Ash looked at the shed he and Eddie were trapped in. His rage boils as he remembers what that monster did to him. Ash holds his head. 'No. What he did to me will not hurt me anymore. It...It was only a stupid kiss. He...he won't have me. I'm not that monster's toy.' Ash thought to himself. Ash looked up the sky as the gang began to walk away from the area. 'I'll find Eddie and make him pay for what he did, but for now, I will forget what he did. We've been so distracted by Eddie's meddling that we haven't enjoyed any part of the amusement park. But if I see that monster again, I'll wack him upside his head and show him not to mess with me. He'll learn that you don't want to mess with Ash Ketchum.' Ash thought as his eyes turned red and lizard like for a few seconds.


	7. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

 **Author's Note: Sorry that this took so long. This has been the toughest chapter to write so far. I've been having writer's block and having to deal with college so it hasn't be easy. Plus I needed to rewrite some sequences. I hope you like the chapter.**

As the gang walked through the amusement park, they played a few mini-games, in which, Misty won a stuffed Alomomola and Iris won a stuffed Dragonite. Ash smiled as they walked up to another mini-game. This one was a standard 'tip the bottles over with a baseball' game. Ash looked at the prizes. He really wanted to win at least ONE prize before they moved onto the more exciting rides, and since he had a really good pitching throw, he knew he could easily win this. Ash soon noticed that a Cubone and other Kanto Pokémon toys were select-able as prizes. Ash wasn't sure why he focused on the Cubone toy in particular, but he was curious as to why they were there. Unova didn't have that many Kanto Pokémon, so having them as prizes was weird. The person who run the mini-game was looking at a newspaper he was holding. He soon groans about something the paper. "Stupid election, you're stopping more interesting stories from being made. God, I'll be glad when this is all over." He said grumpily. The gang blinked. "Um…excuse us, but we want to play." Tracy said. The man looked up and then froze. The gang tilted their heads in confusion. "Um…are you okay?" Ash asked. The man sighed. "Y-yeah. It's just you…um, black haired boy…you look very similar to a man I was friends with back when I lived in Kanto... But maybe it's a coincidence. He moved to Pallet Town, and none of those loser kids could ever be good enough to be apart of our tournaments." The man said. Ash froze for a second as he heard this news. Someone who actually knew his father!? This made Ash super happy. 'FINALLY, I'VE GOT SOME ANSWERS ABOUT MY FATHER!' Ash thought to himself. "REALLY!?" Ash yelled out in happiness which spooks the man. The man sweats as he replies, "What do you know him?" Ash blushes. "No. But I AM his son," Ash said as he regains his confidence. This surprises the man. "You're from Pallet town? …Wow, I never expected such a fine young man to come from there. Then again, your father was a great battler, so I guess you got most of your talent from him." He said. Ash became super ecstatic. "So tell me all about him. His name, what he looks like, where he came from, EVERYTHING!" Ash said, very happy. The man gets up and looks at the boy in confusion. "What?! You don't know ANYTHING about your father?" He asked. Ash shocked his head in shame. "No. Mom hardly talks about him and nobody in my home town knows him." Ash said, but he soon became happy again. "But now that I know someone who knew him, it'll help me find him."

The man froze in shock. "Your father left you…? That's very unlikely of him. He loved your mother and I bet he adored you since he always wanted a son, so why would he leave you?" The man asked. Ash shrugged. "I don't know. Mom just said that he went on a Pokémon journey. She never said why." Ash said, equally as confused. The man sighed. "Well, whatever the reason, it doesn't matter since he already left you…However…I don't remember your father's name or what he exactly looks like. It's been YEARS since I've last saw him and I've lost my pictures of him. I could never forget his personality though. He was energetic, tended to get angered quickly, and acted like a child even when he was man. I can see his sweetness and want for battle in your eyes though." He said. Ash frowned when he heard that the man didn't remember the things that were really important, but smiled a little bit when he heard he was like his father. Iris suddenly giggled. "Like father like son. Both are kids." Iris said. Ash growls at her. He was so tired of that insult. Misty soon coughed which distracted Ash from his rage. "So where did he come from?" Misty asked. The man smiled. "He and I used to live in a small village near Vermilion City; however, it was destroyed over 18 years ago by a coal fire. Your father and the rest of the town people were devastated as we evacuated the town. Quite a number of people died in that fire, but thankfully the survivors managed to move on with their lives. Most of them either became Pokémon trainers or wondering sale people. I lost contact with your father that day, so I don't know what's he's doing now." The man said. The group was saddened by this. "Thanks for telling us." Cilan said. The man nodded. "But enough of the past, you came here to play my game." He said. This slightly cheers the group up. They agreed and Ash paid the man a dollar like what the other rides wanted. The man set up three baseballs and three sets of three plastic bottles. The man smirks as Ash steps up to be the first to try the game. "Alright, it's simple. If you can knock down all three sets of bottles with only three baseballs, then you'll win one of the more wonderful prizes. If you get none, then you'll get a coupon. If you get one, you get some free soap. If you get two, you get some of the small plushy." He said. Ash nodded.

Ash grabs one of the baseballs and get into a pitching pose. Ash breathes out as he focuses on the bottles. He then throws the ball and hits the battles. All of them were knocked over. Ash smirks as he grabs another ball. He focuses on the second stack of bottles and got into position again. He soon throws the ball and knocks the bottles over. His friends cheer since it looked like Ash was going to get a plush. Ash picks up the last ball but soon smelled something bad coming from the man. Ash soon noticed that the man's leg was slightly off position. Ash then notices small pieces of glue on the bottles. Ash realizes that the man was now setting him up so he couldn't get the larger prizes. Ash looked for the Cubone toy and saw it was very large. Ash then looked at the smaller toys. They were raggy, disjointed, and looked like a wreck. Ash growls at the man which confuses him. "What's the meaning of this!?" Ash yelled at the man. The group and the man were now baffled by Ash's anger. "What do you mean by that?" The man asked. Ash looked at the man. "You have put glue on the last set of bottles! You're trying to make me not get the larger toys!" Ash yelled. The man froze for a second. "What? NO! Of course not!" He said. Ash growls and then grabs the man's neck. Soon the man was enclosed in electricity. He screams in pain which causes Ash to smile. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! IT'S TRUE! BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT! THEY MADE ME DO IT! MY GAME IS TOO SIMPLE SO I HAD TO DO SOMETHING SNEAKY TO EVEN IT OUT! PLEASE STOP! STOP!" He yelled. Ash lets go of the man and snickers. **"I thought something was up. Thank you for tell us the truth."** Ash said, but he sounded off. Misty looks into his eyes and froze. They were now red and venomous. The man pants in pain as he recovers from the attack. He then looks at the boy and froze in fear. He soon bowed. "I promise to never do it again, lord Xuchilbara. I'll figure a way to compromise my game instead of cheating. Just please, please don't send me to hell. I didn't mean to do this to you." The man said, terrified for his life. Ash smirks. **"Alright, I'll forgive you, but only if you give me that Cubone doll, after all, I deserve it.** " Ash said. The man smiled. "Thank you. Thank you." He said, then rushed over to the dolls. He soon grabbed the Cubone doll and turned to the group.

The man soon gave Ash the doll. Ash smiles then held his head. He soon shocked it and then looked at the man. Ash became horrified as he realizes what he did. "I-I'm sorry for threatening you. I don't like seeing injustice in the world, and after what Eddie did to me, I've kind of been on the edge. I didn't mean to use the guardian's power on you. I…I don't even know how I did it. But I promise to never do it again." Ash said. The man sighs in relief. "No…you had the right to do it. What I was doing was wrong and I knew it was wrong. You just gave me the courage to realize there was another way. Thank you." He said. The gang was surprised by this. "But Ash zapped you. Shouldn't you be a bit more upset or something?" Iris asked, confused. The man shocked his head. "No. The guardian was just doing his job…I'm just surprised that you are the boy Miss Rose told us about. I knew you were special since you're my friend's son, but I would not expect you to also be the reincarnation of Xuchilbara." He said. The group blinked. "Wait…Reincarnation? Is that the reason Xuchilbara is in Ash? If it is, why didn't Tobias say that was the reason?" Misty asked, confused. The man smiles at this. "Oh, so you've met the Sinnoh Champion. I wasn't expecting that, but you shouldn't trust everything he says about the guardian. He's an outsider so he doesn't know the real powers of the guardian. In fact, no one except the high priestesses knows what he's truly like, however, that doesn't mean they can fully control him. The only thing it listens to is that witch named Alessa; the one who caused the town to be unbalanced. However no one knows why the guardian follows her commands. Thankfully she's gone, and the guardian won't be obeying her ever again." The man said. Ash froze in shock as he remembers the girl from his dreams. 'So that's why I see her. But…is she really a witch?' Ash thought. Ash soon sighed. He decided to ignore that detail since he felt it wasn't important. "Well, unfortunately, I don't know why I followed her. I guess I still have a lot of learning do about the guardian…I mean myself…But…why don't I know it immediately if I'm the guardian?" Ash asked, confused. The man sighed. "Well, if the guardian is locked inside of you, then so would the information he has. However, that's all I can come up with as to why you don't know anything about your true-self. I hope that this idea helps you." He said. The gang nodded. The man sighed.

"Well you better get going. I have to close up shop so I can reorganize my game." He said. The gang nodded and walked away as the man closed the shop up. Ash looked at the Cubone doll as they got father from the shop. Misty notices this and was bugged by Ash's chose. "Hey Ash, why did you chose that as you're prize?" Misty asked. Ash sighed then looked at her. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I think it's because it's the Pokémon that best represents me…I think. After all, Cubones are known for having lost their mothers, and I've lost my dad when I was young. I don't think it's the same thing, but…something about them really connects with me." Ash said. The gang nodded. "Yeah. I've dealt with Cubones, and they act a lot like you, Ash." Tracy said. Ash blushed. "Really? I was just doing a board thing. I wasn't meaning to suggest that they and I are truly the same." Ash said. Iris smirked. "Yeah, but then again you're quite like a lot of young Pokémon; stupid, childish, and tend to get into a lot trouble." Iris said. Ash growls at her. He was getting really tired of her teasing. Ash sighs and looks at the Cubone. "Daddy…" It seemed to say. Ash was at first freaked out by this, but soon realized it was just in his head since no one else noticed the sound. Ash sighs. 'Get a hold of yourself. Don't freak out now.' He said to himself. Ash soon noticed a roller coaster and smiled. "Hey, why don't we go on that?" Ash asked. The gang turned to it and smiled. "Sure, but make sure you don't take your stuff animals and Pokémon with you." Tracy said. Ash frowned. "Aw man. I wanted Pikachu to go with us." Ash said. Pikachu was equally disappointed. "Sorry, but those are the rules. Pikachu would be in too much danger if he just sat in your lap." Cilan said. Ash sighs as he and the girls puts the plushies in their backpacks. After finding a nice spot to put their backpacks and Pikachu away, the gang went on the ride. After having fun on the ride, they went back for their stuff, noticed the time. Ash sighs. He really wanted to explore more of the park, but he couldn't help that time can fly by so fast. Soon the gang walked back to the Pokémon center. Once they arrived back at the center, Misty and Ash soon went off to train while Cilan, Iris, and Tracy talked about their pasts and their cellphone numbers. Once the two trainers were done, everyone had dinner and talked about recent events. Misty and Tracy were concern about the safety of the town's people, while Ash talked about how he was going to get Eddie. After dinner, the group split up and went to their bedrooms. After changing into their night clothes, Ash, Iris, and Cilan went to bed. However, it would not be a peaceful sleep.

(Ash's dream.)

A small Cubone was sitting in a field, crying at the large moon. Normally a Cubone would be crying about its mother, but this one was crying about its father. "Daddy…daddy…daddy, why did you have to go away? I loved you." It said, having Ash's voice. It soon noticed something in the distance. "D-daddy?" It asked, hoping that it was actually its father. However, it soon became fearful once the creature was in full view. The creature was large, hairy, and ape-like. It had yellow hair and wore the same clothes as Ash. And it was charging towards the Cubone. Cubone turns and runs from the creature, but the Cubone's stubby legs couldn't out run the monster. The Cubone soon sees a large man like creature. The Cubone smiled under its mask. It was a Marrowak. "Daddy! Daddy, please! Save me!" Cubone cried out. However, before the Cubone could reach the Marrowak, it trips and hit the ground. It looks up, but sees it's 'father' turning away from the poor creature. Cubone began to cry as darkness surrounds it. It wanted the pain to stop. It wanted the monsters to go away. But what it wanted the most was to be with its daddy. Suddenly Cubone felt claws wrap themselves around him. The small Cubone was soon turned around and was now facing the monster that was chasing him. Cubone began to panic and began to use its bone weapon to whack at the monster, but it did nothing. The larger creature soon bites the Cubone's bone weapon and snaps it in half. Cubone began to freak even more. It was now defenseless. The large creature soon lifts up the skull helmet Cubone wore, showing its mouth and nose. It was small, cute, and kind of looked like a baby Kangaskhan's mouth but brown. The larger creature soon kisses the Cubone. Cubone screams in fear. It tried to get away, but the monster was stronger than it. Soon it began to cry, but even that didn't stop the monster. After a while, the monster let go of Cubone's mouth and then laughs like a maniac. Cubone's skull helmet re-locks into place, tears streaming down poor Cubone's face. The monster soon raised its claw and slashed Cubone stomach. Cubone screams in pain. Cubone soon falls to the ground. Bleeding in a pool of blood. It looks up and sees the moon. It raises one of its paws. "Daddy…" It said. Soon it's went white.

(Real world.)

Ash screams himself awake, then pants as he sits up. He holds himself. He soon began crying as the moon light shined on him. His friends were still asleep but were also having nightmares. They soon screamed themselves awake. Pikachu looks around, and then notices Ash was crying. Iris and Cilan also notice Ash was crying and now mumbling the word 'daddy' under his breath. His friends were saddened by this. Iris the most since she made Ash think of the possibility of his father being a monster. Cilan and Iris get out of bed and walked up to the boy. They soon hugged him, Pikachu climbing onto Ash's shoulder and then nuzzling him. Ash sniffles as he looks at his friends. "Don't worry Ash. Whatever happened, it was just a bad dream. It was most likely caused by the bad vibes of the town. I'm sure everything will be better tomorrow." Iris said. Cilan nodded. Ash sniffled. "Y-you think so?" He asked. They nodded. Ash smiled. "Th-thank you…but…could you do one thing? …Could…Could you get me the Cubone doll? …I…I think it'll help me feel better." Ash said. The two nodded got out of Ash's bed. Cilan soon walked over to Ash's backpack and got out the Cubone Doll. He soon gave it to Ash. Ash smiles as he grabs it. "Thanks." He said. The two nodded and then went back to bed. Ash looks at the doll. "Daddy, where are you?" He asked. Pikachu nodded. Ash soon laid on his bed and eventually went back to sleep.

(Meanwhile, somewhere else.)

Eddie was holding himself up in a large room with a chalice in the middle. He was pacing back and forth across the room in fear. He looked at the only door in the room. He growls. So much work, so much time he put into being Eddie Jackal and his campaign, wasted because of Mr. Danvers and Ash. Eddie didn't dare go outside. The people who had been after him were still out there and now so were the police. Eddie holds his head. 'But why were those people after me in the first place? I hadn't done anything wrong yet.' Eddie thought. He was still confused by that. Then again he was confused as to how he was even in the real world. He soon remembered a voice and something ripping him out of Ash's soul. Eddie stops and stiffens. There aren't a lot of things in this world that can do that. Not even Ash himself can do that…could he? Eddie holds his head. Ash has always hated the spirit which he calls his personal 'monster', so it wouldn't be so hard to believe that Ash somehow learned how to expel him out…But then again there is that voice. 'Just who was that? And why did he sound familiar?' Eddie thought then sighed. He looked at the door. Now that he thought of it, he hadn't really looked in the other rooms of this place. Maybe they could help him understand what's going on. Eddie walks out of the room and into the next one. He stops when he looks at the far end of the room. There stood a painting he was all too familiar with. One he thought only belonged in his dreams and memories. Eddie rushes to the painting and touches it. To his horror, it was real. He looked at the plaque. His eyes shrank in fear. 'Nonononono. This can't be real. This religion is not supposed to be here! Xuchilbara and rest aren't supposed to be real creatures!' Eddie thought as his fears surfaced. Suddenly his head began to ache. He turned away from the painting and the world began to blur.

 _A very young Ash walks up to his father who was sitting in a chair next to a crib. The boy looked like he was around 1 years old and was holding a story book. The man was extremely foggy and covered in shadows except for his smile. "Oh…you want me to read you the story again. Alright." He said. His voice was constantly changing. Sometimes smooth and elegant, sometimes gruff like he had a cold. Ash is put onto the man's lap. The man soon grabbed the book and opened it. He flipped it to the first two pages which showed warring people and Pokémon in armor. In the lower corners of the pages was ineligible text._ _Ash's father then begun to read it. "Long, long ag_ _o, people had nothing. Their bodies ached, and their hearts held nothing but hatred. They fought endlessly, but death never came. They despaired, stuck in the eternal quagmire." The man said, then flipped the page. The first new page showed a very simplified man and woman with brown hair, holding a serpent and a reef, while above them was the sun with a beautiful woman in it. The second page was of the beautiful woman now living with people, spreading joy with two boys. Text was on the bottom like the last two pages. "A man offered a snake to the sun and prayed for salvation, and a woman offered a reed to the sun and asked for joy. Feeling pity for the sadness that had overrun the earth, God was born from those two people. God made time and divided it into night and day. God outlined the road to salvation and gave people joy. And god took endless time away from the people. God created beings to lead people in obedience to Her. The red god, Xuchilbara; the yellow god, Lobsel Vith protected her and were her guardians. She soon made many gods and angels to help the mortals. Finally, God set out to create Paradise where people would be just by being there. A place without pain and hatred. A place where everyone could be happy." Ash's father said, but the two soon became sad as the man turned the page._

 _The last two pages of the story was a double length picture of the goddess in a glass coffin, the people and the two boys crying over her death. "But there God's strength ran out, and She collapsed. All the world's people grieved this unfortunate event, yet God breathed Her last. She returned to the dust. However, this is not the end of the story. Because in her last breath, she said that she would return one day and finish her quest. For god will be reborn one day, and to make sure that happens her servants watch over us and the gods make sure those who are worthy live till that day. So God hasn't been lost. We must offer our prayers and not forget our faith. We wait in hope for the day when the path to Paradise will be opened."_ _Ash's father finished._ _The man soon sighed. "Alright Ash. It's time for bed." He said, then picked Ash up. He soon put the little boy in the crib. Ash yawns as he lies on his bed. He hears his father sigh in relief. Soon Ash closed his eyes and heard his father begin to leave. Ash soon heard a sigh. "Oh, what am I supposed to do with you? I see such great potential for you, but I also see a monster. If I don't do something quickly then you'll fall for the monster's lies. Oh, but what to do? What to do? Oh lord, please. Guide me when we need it the most." Ash's father voice said. Ash became confused. "Daddy?" Ash said._

Eddie snaps out of the vision and pants in fear as he holds himself. 'NO! That's not real…that's…that's just Ash's desperate plea to see his father again. It's NOT REAL!' Eddie crashed to his knees and began to uncontrollably cry. Eddie couldn't think straight due to the pain he was feeling, but he could tell Ash was feeling the exact same way. Eddie stood up. He had to regain control over himself. Suddenly a growl was heard from the shadows. Eddie turns his head and saw a large shadowy creature with a large black collar in the corner. It looked like a human sized Cubone, but something about it was just…unholy. **"What are you doing here, monster?"** A bitter, angered voice asked. Eddie soon smiled as he realizes that it was just Ash. Only Ash would call him 'monster'. He chuckles which causes the creature to be confused. "Ah, Ash, good to see you. I'm surprised that you've found me. I wasn't expecting you to find me so easily." Eddie said. The monster froze in shock. **"Y-you can talk?"** It asked. Eddie smirked. "Of course I talk. We've talked to each other earlier today. And of course, you made me turn into the beast form you normally see me as." Eddie said. Ash steps back. **"E-Eddie? Is...Is that you?"** Ash yelled. Eddie nodded. "Yep. It's me. But I'm more surprised that you didn't recognize me. …Then again I didn't recognize you when you arrive since you look like a big, monstrous Cubone right now, so it's very possible that you see me as something else." Eddie said. Ash growled. **"What are you doing here, Eddie?"** Ash asked. Eddie chuckles. "Oh, I've just been living here ever since YOU and Mr. Danvers caused me to be chased by the police. I'm not sure why you're here right now or why you're asking me as to why I'm here, but since we're stuck here, maybe now we can figure out what's going on." Eddie said. Ash chuckles. **"I know what's going on. You're a murderer from London who stole some kind of power from this town and is now trying to take over the place. You're also trying to hurt me since I'm the guardian and is now in my mind to mess with me."** Ash said. Eddie growled. "No, no, no! I told you! Those ideas are just lies made by Tobias! Yes, I am a murderer, but that happened a long, long time ago. In fact, I'm surprise that Mr. Danvers even knew about that. But that's beside the point. I didn't steal any powers. I've just awakening my own. Remember I am you." Eddie said. Ash growls at the man. **"Liar! You're not me! You can never be me!"** Ash snapped.

Eddie chuckled. "Oh yeah? Have you forgotten the people you've killed, especially when that collar was removed?" Eddie asked. Ash took a step back as he remembers that. He remembers killing Gary's parents and his doctor. He remembers killing people when he took off the psych collar which he wore in his mind. Ash soon shocked his head. **"N-no! That wasn't me! That…that was the monster! That beast Luc told me about! The monster that kills and destroys anything it sees. It…It's you! YOU ARE THAT MONSTER!"** Ash said. He became horrified as Eddie chuckles. "Yep, that's right. That's the reason I know you so well. That's why we share the same feelings. And that's why I 'resemble' that monster you fear so much." Eddie said. Ash became fearful. Ash soon shocked his head. **"But you're still not me. Luc told me all about how you and those other creeps entered my mind and began toying with me. Just because you've been in me doesn't mean you ARE me. You're just another evil spirit like Satoshi."** Ash said. The two soon glared at each other. Both felt rage for the other. Ash soon notices the large painting behind Eddie. He froze at the sight of it. It was the same monster from his nightmare. That Pyramid headed thing. Ash shocked his head. He shouldn't be worried about it. It was only a painting. He had to worry about Eddie right now. Eddie smirked. "So, what are you going to do? I'm already dead." Eddie said. Ash grunted. He wasn't sure what to do. Ash shocked his head. 'It's just like a ghost Pokémon. It shouldn't be too hard…right? Besides, I don't have the same connection with this monster as I do with Satoshi. I don't have to worry about holding back.' Ash thought, however he was still hesitant on answering the man. Eddie looks at the painting. "I kind of wish I knew what was happening to us. After all, I'm not supposed to be separate from you." Eddie said. Ash smirks. **"Well, I'm happy you're gone. That means I won't feel any more of those nasty feelings you give me."** Ash said. Eddie smirked. "You sure? Because I've heard from quiet a number of people about your drunken dinner. You were just as bad as how I normally am." Eddie said. Ash growled. **"That Alcohol did something to my brain, but that doesn't mean we're the same or that you still have any influence over me."** Ash said. Eddie chuckled. "Oh really? Okay, then hit me with your best shot." Eddie said. Ash smirked and rushed towards the man. He soon punches the man right in the face. He was knocked back into a wall. Ash smirks, but his teeth were now aching in pain. He ignored it and rushed over to Eddie. He picks him up by the collar and forces him to look into the boy's eyes.

Ash smirked. **"See, perfectly fine and happy. Now you'll pay for all that you've done."** Ash said. Eddie sighed. "Is that what this whole thing's about?" Eddie asked. Ash was taken aback by what Eddie said. **"Well…yeah. You've killed I don't know how many people, you've tried to hurt Misty and the others, you scared me and k-kissed me, and you've threaten many of these people to vote for you. You need to pay for what you've done."** Ash said. Eddie smirked. "But is it the same reason he wants me punished?" Eddie asked. Ash blinked. **"He? What are you talking about now?"** Ash said, annoyed. Eddie sighed. "I don't know. It feels like someone is watching us…and judging us. I don't know who he is, but he somehow did this to us and wants something from us." Eddie said. This only confused Ash even more. Ash puts the man down. **"What are you talking about?"** Ash asked. Eddie sighed. "I remember the moment we split apart. We were in some kind of circle with chanting all around us. Then we heard a deep voice saying something that I can't recall, and then I was ripped out. I don't know how it happened, but it happened. It might have been the reason why I didn't know who I really was at the beginning." Eddie said. Ash soon felt his head ache. Suddenly he flashes back to the incident. He remembered the pain and the weird chanting. He remembered the darkness and the symbols. And most importantly, he remembered the voice. Ash flashes back to reality and looks at Eddie. **"Y-you're right. There was someone who did that to us…he…he saved me from becoming the guardian...however, I don't remember why he did that or who he might have been."** Ash said. Eddie sighed. "Well, we've gotta thank him for doing that. I sure didn't want to be this 'guardian' you talk about…by the way, who is this guardian?" Eddie asked. Ash smirked. **"Oh, that's easy, Xuchilbara."** Ash said. Eddie froze when he heard that name. "N-no. Y-YOU'RE LYING! XUCHILBARA ISN'T REAL! SILENT HILL ISN'T REAL! S-STOP LYING!" Eddie yelled, scared. Ash was taken aback by this. From the way Tobias told his story, Eddie knew about the town's guardian. However this changed everything. It meant Tobias lied to him...then again why was he yelling about that weird dream town he went to? Ash soon noticed tons of bugs surrounding Eddie and him. **"So I don't exist, eh puny man?"** A cold, gruff voice said. It sounded the same as Ash's voice, but it felt much different than Ash's. Ash was surprised to hear this new voice. Eddie froze in fear while Ash looked around. **"Wh-who's there!?"** Ash demanded, scared out of his mind. A cold laugh rings through the air. **"I am Xuchilbara, puny boy, and I was the one who saved you from misusing our powers. I guess that means you should thank me now, human."** The voice said.

Ash was surprised to hear the guardian's voice. "NO WAY! I'm never going to thank you or be you again! I've been through too much with this body! We don't need your monsters to mess us up even more!" Eddie yelled. Ash blinked. He was very lost on what Eddie was talking about. **"I'm sadden that you've feel that way. I thought you would have eventually warm up to my creations and our religion. But I guess I was mistaken."** The voice said. Eddie growled. "No! I'll never warm up to that cliche cult you belong to! It's boring and takes away from our free will! I love the power you give me, but the price is too high!" Eddie yelled. Ash was surprised by Eddie's speech. Not only about this supposed 'cult and creatures' he spouted about, but also the fact that he was afraid was because he didn't like being a puppet. Ash, however, could understand that fear. The voice chuckles. **"It's too late, puny man. What we want is insignificant, what's important is protecting the empress. Besides, we've got to punish the sinners, like you."** The voice said. Ash nodded. Eddie noticed that Ash was agreeing with the voice, and it angered him. "Why are you agreeing with him!? I thought you carious your freedom. If we let him win, then we will be transformed into his mind. That means we'll be everything you've feared." Eddie said in anger. Ash looks at him. **"Yes, I know Xuchilbara is a bad man, but at least he's better than you! He at least wants to stop bad people even if he makes people fear him! He's not like you where you destroy everything I love! I would rather be him than you!"** Ash yelled. Eddie chuckles. "You wouldn't be saying that if he forced you through his world. If you saw how monstrous he truly was, then you would be on my side." Eddie said. Ash growled. **"Even if what you say is true, I would never join you!"** Ash yelled, not noticing the bugs crawling up his body. Eddie chuckles. "Oh, I won't say that so soon, it looks like you're falling apart from the inside. If you don't do something soon, you'll fall into madness and right into my hands." Eddie said. Ash growls as he holds himself. He was getting really enraged and it was now starting to blur his vision. He had to do something quick before he loses himself. But what should he do? He's not a killer.

Ash's body soon pulsated in pain as the animal side of himself began roaring out. Ash closed his eyes. The world began to blur for him. Eddie notices this and smiles. Hopefully this meant Ash was going to side with him instead of Xuchilbara. Ash suddenly lets out a monstrous roar, then glares at Eddie. His eyes were now red and lizard like. The large Cubone like creature picks up Eddie and growls in rage. Eddie smirked and then looked at the bugs. The bugs were now covering up to the torso of their bodies. "So Ash, what are you going to do to me?" He collie asked. The beast raised his club weapon into the air and slams it right into Eddie's chest. He grunts in pain. He then smirks. "Is that the best you've got? I've felt more pain from Satoshi's attacks than from you." He mocked. Ash raised his club and smacks it against Eddie's face. Eddie smirks as he looks at Ash after the attack. "Come on! Hit me with your best shot!" Eddie yelled. Ash roars and then turns the club so the pointed side faced Eddie. He slams into Eddie's chest and he screams in pain. However, the monster was also yelling in pain as it stumbles back. A wound had suddenly burst out of the creature's chest. The creature falls to the ground as the bugs swarm into the hole. Ash regains consciousness and looks at Eddie. Tears began to form in his eyes. **"I'm so sorry."** Ash said before he falls unconscious. Suddenly the large pyramid headed man from Ash's dreams appeared in the room and smirks behind his helmet. He looks at Edward. **"Alright, Edward, you've been properly punished. You and Ash are still not ready to gain my powers yet, but at least I've finally got you to feel the pain you've put upon other people. Now it's time for Ash to pay. After all, he's just as responsible as you."** He said. He soon noticed that there was a disturbance in the town. He soon sees a pile of bugs pulling in poster of Perlis into the room. Xuchilbara picks up the poster and chuckles. **"Ah, so that's the person who caused all of this. It looks like we've still have a lot of things to do."** He said, then crushes the poster.

(With the gang.)

Ash was shocked into reality by Pikachu as he wakes up from his nightmare. Once the electricity died down, he looked around in confusion. He soon noticed that his stuff animal had fallen off his bed, and Pikachu was in its place. He had been holding him very tightly, which was the reason he was shocked. He sighs and loosens his grip. "Oh, sorry about that, buddy. I had another nightmare. I hope this doesn't become a trend." Ash said. Pikachu nodded. Ash soon looked to his left and saw his friends waking up. After a few yawns from them, they looked at the boy in confusion. "Ash, are you alright?" Cilan asked as he got out of bed. They were very concerned with Ash's health. Ash holds his head as he tries to figure out what just happened. He soon remembered his dream and the strange feelings he felt. "Y-yeah, I…I dreamt I was fighting with Eddie; but I lost myself to my rage and became a monster…I-I don't remember what happened after I became the monster thou." Ash said then sighed. "But…it felt so real. It was like I was right with him. He looked like the monster we saw him run off as, but he was acting more like his normal self. But it obviously didn't happen. After all, I-it was just a dream. Something like that just couldn't have happen." Ash smiled; however, he wasn't sure if it was just a dream or if Eddie actually had entered his mind. It was very realistic for the most part and Luc didn't interfere which was very odd. Iris and Cilan nodded. Ash and Iris soon got out of bed with their Pokémon. After getting dress, Ash walked to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and sighed. He was away from everyone except for Pikachu, but he didn't care. He just needed to get what he was bottling inside off his chest. "What am I supposed to do now? I…I don't know what to do with Eddie. I feel so…pathetic." Ash asked himself. Pikachu looks at him with confusion. "Pikapi?" The small rodent asked. Ash looks at his partner and smiles. "I-It's nothing, Pikachu. Really." Ash said, but Pikachu didn't buy it for one minute. Ash notices this and sighs. "Alright. You've got me. Something is up. It's about my current dream, the one with Eddie. He…I don't know…he said that he was the same monster I told you about back when Brock, May, and Max were around, but I don't believe him especially since that could've been a dream. However …I'm still not sure about what just happened. I could feel him when I hit him. I also heard the guardian's voice. You know, the one Tobias and the town people told us about, but oddly Eddie didn't know about me being the guardian of the town or what the guardian is, which was odd since, even if it was just a dream version of him, he should've known about that. But I'm getting off topic." Ash said, then sighed.

"I just...I just don't know what to make of that dream." Ash admitted. Pikachu pets Ash's hair which calms the boy. Ash smiles at his friend. At least he has his friend's backing. After a few seconds, he looked into the mirror and froze. His reflection was demonetizing with a monstrous smile and vicious lizard like eyes. Ash took a step back as he looked at the monster. Ash closed his eyes and looked away. Ash began to breathe heavily. "I-I'm not a monster. I'm nothing like Eddie or the guardian. I…I'm not becoming them, and I'm not going let Tobias force me into that form…" Ash said, then smiled, "Y-yes. That's right! I can refuse! I cannot be that murderous, rapping creature! They can't control me! THEY COULD NEVER DO! AND IF THEY DARE TRY TO HURT ME, HAHAHA! I'll make them all pay." Ash soon laughed. Pikachu didn't like this at all. "PIKAPI!" Pikachu yelled out to his master. This snaps Ash back into reality. Ash holds his head as it clears. He looks at Pikachu in confusion. "Wh-what? What just happened? O-oh god, I hope Eddie isn't controlling me." Ash said, fearful for his soul. Pikachu nodded. Ash sighed. "B-but what am I supposed to do against someone like that? I could barely fight against the king of Pokelantis, and you know very well how badly I screwed that up." Ash said. Pikachu nodded but soon told Ash that he still got Pokelantis out and eventually won against Brandon, so this shouldn't be hard. Ash smirks. "Y-yeah, I-I can do this." Ash said to Pikachu, then looked at the mirror. He looked a bit worn out and had bags under his eyes. 'Who are you fooling? You can't do this! Pokelantis is still inside of you. Still there, planning to hurt you and steal your body. It won't be long before he steals your body and actually do something with it instead of flirting with Dawn. And then they'll find out and you'll be shunned and rejected. You'll lose everyone even Pikachu, and then you'll be back as a monster as you always feared. You'll never feel the love you so desperately want, and all you'll have is your loneliness and fear to control you.' Ash's reflection said. Ash growls as glares at his reflection. He loses control of himself and roars in rage. He soon punches the mirror and yells "SHUT UP!" He soon pants as he recovers from the attack. A few shards now were embedded in Ash's hand. Pikachu was confused by his master's sudden violence. "Pikapi? Pika Pika Pikachu?" He asked. Ash holds his head with his uninjured hand. He was in too much of a rage to try and understand Pikachu's words.

"Ash, what was that?" Cilan asked as he enters the room. He gasps as he looks at his friend's bleeding hand and then the mirror. "Ash…did…did you just punch the mirror?" Cilan asked. Ash glares at Cilan and Cilan froze in fear. Those weren't Ash's eyes. Those were the eyes of a ravenous animal ready to attack. Cilan was confused by Ash's sudden change. "A-Ash, wh-whatever has happened, it's not your fault. D-don't be angry at yourself or m-me or Iris. W-we've done nothing wrong. B-besides, you told us yourself, it was just a dream." Cilan said as calmly as he could. He didn't want Ash to get agitated. Ash snarls at the man and steps closer. He clutches his injured hand once he took that step. Even in his enraged state, Ash couldn't ignore the pain in his hand anymore. "Ash, what's going on with you?" Iris asked. She was behind Cilan, but only enough for Axew and her body to be protected. She had enough space to look at Ash though. Ash holds his body. He was in a lot of pain. "Ash, please…let us help you." Cilan said. Ash looks at Cilan and Iris with pleading eyes. "Please…stop the nightmares…I…I don't know how many more we can take." Ash said, scared. Cilan and Iris smile. "We'll do the best we can, we promise." Iris said. Ash smiles then fall to the floor. Cilan rushes to the boy and began pulling Ash to the sink. He takes the boy's finger-less glove off and puts the boy's hand under the Fossete to poor water on it. After turning on the Fossete and finding out there weren't any hard to get out of pieces of glass in the boy's hand, Cilan pulled out the pieces of glass out. After he did that, he pulled Ash's hand away from the sink and began disinfecting it and then bandaging it up. Once done, he checked Ash's forehead and vital signs to make sure Ash was okay. He sighed in relief once he was done. "Umm…so is Ash going to be okay?" Iris asked. Cilan looks at her and nods. "Yeah. But we'll need to find out the main reason he did that. I don't think a few bad nightmares can lead someone to punch out their own reflection." Cilan said. Iris nodded. "Do you…naugh." She began to say, but backed off. Cilan and Pikachu were intrigued by this. "What?" He asked. Iris sighs. "Do you think Ash hates himself?" Iris asked. Cilan, Axew, and Pikachu were surprised by Iris' question. "Iris, why would suggest such an idea?" Cilan asked. Iris looks at Ash. "Well…Ash has always been distance about his past and what he has done. Not to mention, he tends to be harsh on himself sometimes. So maybe he hates himself. I'm not sure why, but it's the only thing logical for him hitting the mirror like that." Iris said. Cilan thought about it. It did sound logical. He looked at Pikachu who looked conflicted. If Pikachu was conflicted about what Iris said, then it was very close to the truth, but Pikachu didn't know if she was right or not.

Suddenly an idea came to him. "But what if it was Eddie? He and Ash seem to have a weird connection to each other, so Eddie could use that to mess with his mind. He does have that strange powers after all." Cilan said. Iris nodded. "Yeah, you could be right, but we don't know a single thing about these supposed powers Eddie has or what he can or can't do. The only thing we do know is that he can turn into a monster." Iris said. Cilan sighed. "Yeah." He agreed. They soon picked Ash up and put him back into his bed. After a few minutes, Ash woke up again. He grunts in pain as he gets up. He holds his head as he shakes it. "Ugh, my head. What happened?" He asked. Ash's friends were surprised that Ash said that. "What? YOU DON'T KNOW?" Iris yelled in shocked. Ash looked at her in confusion. "Know what?" He asked. Cilan pointed to Ash's injured hand which was to his side. "Well, for example, your hand. You punched the bathroom mirror and became very aggressive against us. What happened?" Cilan asked. Pikachu agreed. Ash looks at his bandaged hand and was shocked by this. He soon remembered what happened. He sighed. "I-it's nothing…really." Ash said with a smile. However, this didn't fool his friends at all. "Ash, you're lying. Now tell us the truth!" Iris yelled. Ash blinked then looked away. "I told you it's not important." Ash argued, but he was soon silenced by Pikachu sparking his cheeks and glaring at Ash. "Pikaaaa." Pikachu growled. Ash sighed as he looked at them. "Okay, okay, you've got me…I was talking to Pikachu about my latest dream. I thought I was fine, but then…Eddie talked to me through the mirror. He mocked me and said that I can't do anything and that I'll lose everything soon. I…I was so enraged by his claims that I attacked him, and it, in turn, hurt myself." Ash said as he looked down. Cilan smiled as he looked at Iris. "See, I told you it was about Eddie." Cilan whispered to her. Iris just pouted before turning her attention back to Ash. "Well, we'll do everything to catch this monster and make him pay. We promise." Iris said. Ash smiles as he realizes she was right. "Y-yeah! He may have some strange power over me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to lose!" Ash said as he stands up. Pikachu soon climbs onto his shoulder. The gang smiles at this. "There's the Ash we know and love." Cilan said. Ash nodded. "Well, we'd better get going. I don't want to be stuck in this room any longer." Iris said. The gang agreed. They soon left their room. As Ash and the gang walked to the main hall of the Pokémon center, Ash couldn't help but think back to his dream again. Did he actually meet Eddie and the guardian? Why did he meet them in that strange room? Was it just another part of his mind? If so, was that really Eddie or was it just an illusion? Ash sighed. 'Don't think about it. It means nothing. You're fine. Eddie is going to pay for what he has done, and the guardian will be forgotten about.' Ash thought to himself. However, he soon remembered the 'flashback' he saw. He holds his chest. He wanted to know so much more about his father, but at this rate, it felt like he was never going to find him. Ash sighs, which causes Pikachu to rub against Ash's cheek. Ash notices this and smiles.

The gang soon sees Tracy and Misty waiting for them. Ash smiles wider as the gang got closer. "H-hey, Misty. Hey, Tracy." Ash said tiredly. Misty and Tracy notice that he was tired and one of his hands was wrapped up in bandages. "Ash, is something wrong? What happened to your hand?" She asked with worry in her voice. Ash sheepishly smiles. "Kind of…I kept being wakened up by nightmares, and in turn, I wake up Cilan and Iris as well, which hasn't been all that great for my health. As for my hand...well... Eddie made me punch our bathroom mirror." Ash said. This surprises Tracy and Misty. "Eddie made you do that? Is that one of his powers?" Tracy asked. Ash shrugged. "Who knows? I certainly don't…but…I'm not going to accept Tobias' offer to wake up the guardian inside of me. You've heard what he's like from Nurse Joy and that arcade guy. I can't let a monster like that be released into the world." Ash said. The gang nodded. Cilan held his chin. "Yeah. That does sound like a smart move. I'm glad you thought about it, but...if the guardian is really that bad as Nurse Joy says, then why would he not be seen as a monster? Yes he 'protects' the town, but I don't think his methods would make him be seen as a good guy." Cilan said. Ash blushed. "I'm not sure about why he's still loved, but a-actually, Eddie or at least the dream version of him, told me that doing that is a bad move, and if someone like him says something is a bad move, then you know something stinks." Ash said. The gang nodded. "Maybe you should go back to bed and take a break from thinking of the town. After all, you don't look all that well." Misty said. Ash smirks. "Don't worry Misty, I'm fine. I just need something to eat, that's all." Ash said. Misty and Iris groan. "Well, if you say so." Iris said. The gang soon walked to a small dinner in the Pokémon center which was for people who use the Pokémon center. They didn't eat here the first night since the food wasn't all that special and they wanted to try some of the local food. Once Ash and the others got their food, they found a table for them to sit on. As the gang ate, Ash couldn't help but think of his latest nightmare again. There was still one thing that bugged him. He didn't want to focus on it at the time, but the panting he saw was very interesting. He was curious as to what the creature was. He knew it was a monster, but he never saw one like it before. It looked like a man, but why didn't it speak? Why did it only roar or be silent? And why did it scare him so much? Yeah, it had a big sword, but there was something more than that which made him afraid. Was it Eddie who was making him fearful of the painting and the monster or was it his own feelings that were making him fearful? Ash sighs.

Ash soon thought back to the 'memory'. It had the same story as the Darkrai amusement park dream. He smiled. At least that memory explained where that part of the dream came from. But he was still confused by the story and its importance. Why was that his favorite story when his father was around? What was it even about? Ash tried to figure out the story, but it was just too ridiculous. There was no way for 'god' to be born from two humans. Plus why did it mention the town's guardian? Was the town guardian really this 'god' like the story said it was? Ash shocked his head. 'No, that's ridiculous. The guardian is just a Pokémon like all legendaries. It's not a "god".' Ash thought. He soon sighed. 'Daddy, where are you?' He asked inside as he now slowly ate his meal. Meanwhile, Tracy talked with Cilan about Pokémon food and the like, and Iris and Misty talked about the tournament. Ash was excited about it, but he was also scared since that would mean he would have to face Eddie. Then again Eddie wasn't that great of a battler so it was very unlikely that they would met each other. Then again, Eddie would be more skilled with his powers by then and could cheat to gain the title. Ash growls at the thought of Eddie cheating to gain the tournament. The boy always hated unfairness and wished he was more of a skilled trainer when he first went on his journey so he couldn't cheat like what happened with Brock's Onyx. Ash sighs. 'Don't remember events like that. They're only make you want to cheat even more.' Ash told himself, and then finished up his food. Once done with his food, Ash got up and walked up to the Pokémon Center bar. Ash soon noticed a little boy crying in the corner of the room. Ash drops off his plate and then walks up to the boy. "Hey, are you okay?" Ash quietly said, not only for his friends to not notice his disappearance, but to also calm the crying boy. The boy turned to Ash. Ash smiled. The boy was about 8 years old or younger, he was about haft of Ash's height; he wore a plain yellow shirt, blue shorts, and blue flip-flops; he had curly brown hair, and his eyes were ruby-red. He shocked his head.

Ash kneels to be at the boy's level. "Well, then we'll make you feel okay…hey, want to hug my Pikachu?" Ash asked. The boy nodded. Ash turned to Pikachu and nodded. Pikachu jumps off of Ash's shoulder and walks up to the boy. The boy notices the Pokémon and quickly hugs it. After a few minutes, the boy sniffled. "Don't worry; I'm not here to hurt you. Now please tell me what happened." Ash calmly asked. The boy sniffled and then rubbed his eyes with one of his hands. "I…I lost my daddy. Could you help me find him?" The boy said. His voice was quiet and meek. Ash smirked. "No problem. Hey, where was the last place you saw him?" Ash asked. The boy looked down. "I…I think it was at the Historical Society Museum." The boy said. Ash stands up. "Okay. That's not far from here." Ash said. Ash turned to his friends who were now looking at him in confusion. "Hey, I found a lost boy. I'm going to try his father. It might take a while. Don't worry, I'll be back." Ash said. His friends noticed this and smiled. "Don't worry, we understand." Tracy said. The others nodded. Ash smiled and grabbed the little boy's left hand, which he used to whip away his tears. He, Pikachu, and the boy soon left the center and walked right down the road. Ash had seen the place in Cilan's map, and after a while, they reached the museum. It was a small shack area that didn't look that big. Ash looked at the door. "Well, I guess it's open. I don't see a 'closed' sign." Ash said as he opens the door. The boy smiles while Pikachu was concern. The place looked a bit run down from the outside. "Hello? Hello? Has anyone lost a little boy?" Ash asked as they entered the room. He soon noticed that there wasn't anyone around. "That's strange. There should be someone at least at the desk." Ash said as he looked at the reception desk. It was to the left of the room, however, there was nothing important on it. Ash decided to go in deeper so they enter another door and were in a large room with two podiums in the middle. On the walls were paintings of the land, but they weren't all that important. Ash turned right, but saw no one around. He turned to his left and his eyes shrank.

On the wall was a large painting of the man from his nightmares holding a spear in his right hand. Behind him were a couple of boxes that were hanged in the air. Ash sees that one of the boxes had something in it but he couldn't tell what it was. Ash gulped as he recognizes the room from his latest nightmare. The boy notices this as he hugs Pikachu. "Are you okay?" The boy asked. Ash turns to the boy and puts on a smile. "Y-yeah. It's just…that thing in the painting. It looks like a monster I saw in a nightmare. But thankfully it was a nightmare." Ash said as he calms his nerves. The boy frowned. "I don't know. Sometimes dreams can come true." The boy said, very scared. Ash then smiled naturally and rubbed the boy's hair. "Yeah, but dreams and nightmares are two different things. Besides, we're looking for your father." Ash said. The boy nodded. Ash turned to his right. There was another door they could use. Ash goes through it and sees that no one was there. "Huh?" Ash asked as he enters the room. He looks around, but there was nothing there to indicate where he should go next. "That's strange. Nobody's here." Ash said out loud. He soon sighed. "I'm sorry kid, but I don't see anyone here. I don't think this place has been used for a long, long time." Ash said as he looked around. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but the place was covered in cobwebs and dust. The ceiling was also very tall and dark, so Ash couldn't see what was hiding in them. 'I don't have a good feeling about this.' Suddenly he felt a chill going down his spin as he hears Pikachu yelling out in fear before it was muffled. "Wh-what was that?" Ash asked, scared. The kid chuckles. "What's the matter? Scared of ghosts?" The kid asked. Ash looked at the boy. The kid was obviously walking way too calmly right now. Plus he was covering Pikachu's mouth, who looked scared. "What? No. But…something's not right. I…I feel something's wrong here. Plus, why are you covering Pikachu's mouth?" Ash said. The boy smirked. "Pikachu got scared, so I'm trying to calm him down. That's all." The boy said. Ash sighed and then looked at the paintings. There wasn't anything wrong with them, although their coloring did look a bit different like they weren't made out of paint. What was really odd was that they were mostly red like blood. Ash looked at the center of the room, which had a caliche in it. The kid soon walked up to Ash. He touched the boy's back, and this somehow caused Ash to freeze up. "Don't worry; everything will be over soon, Ash." The boy said, but it wasn't the boy's voice. It was Eddie's. Ash turned around, but instead of the boy, it was Eddie holding Pikachu. Pikachu was now struggling to get out the man's hands.

Ash growled. "Y-you! Tobias warned me that you would do something tricky, but I didn't know you could do this." Ash said, angry. Eddie smiled. "Oh Tobias, do you honestly think you can trust him? That he won't back stab you and seal you away in the cage?" The man said. Ash froze in fear while Pikachu was confused by this. Ash soon sees a large opal shaped rusted metal cage with one door and a lock that looked very hard to open. Ash gulped as he backed off. "N-no. NOT THE CAGE! ANYTHING BUT THE CAGE!" Ash yelled in fear as he closes his eyes. Pikachu was surprised by this. He never saw Ash so scared before. This made Eddie chuckle. "If you don't want that fate to happen, then join with me. Together we can be one again and undo all the damage they've done to us. Do you want to be stuck in the cage? Do you want Henry to take away everything you are?" Eddie asked; he sounded very concerned, which confused Ash and Pikachu. Ash held himself. "N-no, I don't want that at all!" Ash said as fear consumes him. Eddie smiles. Ash soon sees his friends. He sees Eddie laughing as he destroys the beauty that is this town. Ash growls. "But I'm not going to let a monster like you destroy this town and hurt everyone! I may be afraid of the cage, but I won't let you get control of this place! Pikachu use thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu nodded and then let out a large thunderbolt. However, Eddie was affected by it as he frowned while being shocked. "So you'll ignore my warning. Oh well, I had hoped it wouldn't come to that. But I guess I have no choice." Eddie said while the electricity goes through him. Pikachu stops and pants from being out of breath. Eddie chuckles as snaps his fingers. Suddenly bug Pokémon entered through the door and fell from the ceiling. Ash was taken aback by this. "How? How did Pikachu's thunderbolt not affect you? Who are you anyways? How do you know about my fear of the cage?" Ash asked as he sees Eddie beginning to leave. Eddie stopped and turned to Ash with a smile on his face. "Oh, I don't want to tell you EVERYTHING. If I reveal too much of this town, then it'll affect your brain and turn you into their puppet, so I don't want that. And besides, where's the fun in telling you ALL the secrets? I think it's more fun you trying to figure things on your own. But I will tell you that I'll keep you here until I win the tournament. My bug Pokémon webs are very strong, so they'll keep you inside this room in a cocoon. And when you're hungry, you can eat one of them. I don't care as long as I have Pikachu. Oh, and let's say that there's a reason we have such a strong bond. Those dreams of your aren't just nightmares. They're clues to the mystery." Eddie said.

Ash growls as he rushes over to the man with his fists but was soon stopped when a couple of string shots grabbing his arms. Ash grunted as he tried to get his arms free, but it wasn't working. Ash looked at the bugs. "Why do you work for that monster? He doesn't care if you live or die. He's a monster." Ash asked the bug Pokémon. However, they didn't reply. Ash growls and then turns to Eddie. 'I have to do something, but...what?' Ash asked himself. However, just as Eddie was about to exit the room, he was grabbed by a couple of black claw hands and he was lifted into the air. The arms force Eddie to let go of Pikachu. Eddie growls and kicks the creature. "Let me go! LET ME GO! I am the Emperor! I will not let someone like you get in the way!" Eddie yelled out as he kicked. Meanwhile, Pikachu ran towards his best friend, ready to use Iron Tail to free his best friend from the webs. Suddenly one of the black hands let go and Eddie was blasted back into the room. Pikachu was too low for Eddie to hit him, but he knocks into Ash, and they were pushed backwards. The bug Pokémon acted quickly and made a web to catch both boys before they could collide with the display case. Ash and Eddie grunt as they hit the web. Eddie fell to the ground and groan in pain while Ash was stuck to the web. Eddie gets up and growls at the door. "You'll pay for that, Tobias! Now you've gotten me angry! I'll destroy this whole town just to get rid of this guardian role you've put on me!" Eddie yelled, confusing Ash and Pikachu. 'Wait...aren't I supposed to be the guardian? Was that dream real? Is Eddie really me?' Ash thought, but before he could think about it, Tobias and Darkrai entered the room. "T-Tobias?" Ash said in surprise. Pikachu turns around and looks at the two in surprise. The 'champion' looked at Darkrai. "Darkrai, silence this madman with Dark Void." Tobias commanded. Eddie growls as Darkrai formed a dark ball in its hands. It then throws it at Eddie. However, he ducked down and Ash was engulfed by the darkness. He screams in pain. Suddenly the webbing disappeared and Ash falls into a black hole.

After a few seconds, he crashes to the ground and grunts in pain. He quickly gets up and looks around until he notices Eddie, who was a few feet to his left. To his surprise, they were back in the room. Ash gulped in fear despite the fact that Eddie was facing the ground and looked unconscious. He knew what just happened since it had happened before back in Almost City. He was trapped in one of Darkrai's nightmares. Ash began to breath slowly. 'Calm down. You'll be fine. It was just a mistake by Darkrai, he didn't mean for this to happen. Soon you'll wake up and question Tobias and Darkrai. Then you'll make Eddie pay...oh, what's happening now? What is that monster doing to them? Will they be alright without me?' Ash asked himself, however he had no idea what was happening in the waking world. He sighed. "Maybe this won't be all that bad, after all, the last time I was 'dark voided' I saw the monster who caused all the problems in Almost town. Maybe this time will be the same...then again I do know who's caused all this pain and misery. Eddie. If it wasn't for him, I would be happy and my friends probably wouldn't have reminded me of...him..." Ash said as he began to remember all the questions he had about his father. Meanwhile he was talking, Ash unknowingly walked over to Eddie until Eddie grabbed the boy's leg. Ash jumps at this, lifting the man up a bit. Ash looks down and sees the man's face, however, instead of Eddie's face, it was his own. This freaks Ash even more, and he kicks it away. Ash holds himself as he looks away. 'Wh-what was that? Why did Eddie have my face?' Ash asked himself, however, he was now shivering. Ash soon hears a low moan. Ash slowly turns his head to the body he kicked away and sees that it was replaced by the kid from earlier. Ash rushes over to him and then picks him up. The kid was exactly the same, although a little bruised up. Ash felt really bad that he hurt the boy. "Kid, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just there was this monster, Eddie, he...he had my face, and I had to kick it away. I...I didn't know you were here." Ash said in fear. The kid smiles and looks at Ash. His soft red eyes precise Ash's soul. "I...It's alright. I...I'm fine...It...just hurts a little." The boy said. Ash smiles. Ash looks around. 'But where did that thing go?' Ash thought, before remembering that the little boy WAS Eddie. Ash holds his head. 'No! They're two different creatures...they...they have to be. Something about this boy is much more...I don't know...nicer...than that monster's version of him. In fact, he kind of reminds me of big brother.' Ash thought, a bit confused.

Suddenly, he noticed a green light falling down slowly towards the two boys. Ash moves the boy onto his lap and lifts up his hands. Soon the light landed in them. Ash blinked. Ash then looks at the boy. "Hey, what's this?" He asked as he showed the boy the light. The boy looks at the light and then puts a hand over it. "I ...I think it's apart of us...of you...I...I've seen it in that black world." The boy said. Ash titled his head then looked up. "But...if it's apart of us? Then why was it in the sky?" Ash asked. Ash then looked at the boy, who was now off his lap and standing in front of him. "I...I don't know. I remember hearing a voice and you being in a circle, but that's about it." The boy said. Ash soon felt a click in his mind. "S-Satoshi? Is...Is that you?" Ash asked. The boy smiled. "I guess you've figured it out, but...I'm not the 'normal' Satoshi as you normally know me as." The boy said, then glowed bright white. Ash looked away and closed his eyes so his eyes wouldn't be hurt. After a while, the light died down and Ash was able to look at the man again. To his surprise and delight, the boy had grown into a taller, older, handsome man wearing brown clothes. Ash soon realized that it was the man he saw when he saw Eddie giving his speech. It was also the form of Satoshi back when the two were technically two separate spirits. Ash soon began to tear up. "Big Brother!" Ash yelled as he stands up. He wanted to hug the man, but couldn't because of the 'star' he held. The man smiled. Ash soon held his head with one of his hands. "I...I can't believe it's the real you! Does...does that mean you'll stop being the evil king of Pokelantis? Does that mean you've abandon you goal to conquer the world?" Ash asked. The man sighed. "Oh I wish, but sadly I cannot give up that dream no matter how much we wish. The evil inside of me is too strong and too stubborn to let the more gentler side of me to be free, but this isn't about that." Satoshi said. Ash became disappointed as he lower his hand and holds the 'star' with both hands. "Oh...I...I hoped that was the case...I miss you so much. I don't want to hate you." Ash said. The man nodded as he frowned. "Me too, however it looks this part of you has finally returned to you. From what I can tell, it was always with us, but whatever kept it in the sky was waiting until now to return it to you. I don't know why or what it has to do with what just happened. But at least you'll be back to normal, Edward." Satoshi said with a smile. Ash's eyes suddenly became venomous and he growls in rage. He stands up and grabs Satoshi's tie to pull him down to his eye level since Satoshi was taller than Ash. **"I am NOT EDWARD HYDE! I'm ASH! ASH KETCHUM!"** Ash yelled in rage. He soon realized what he was doing and looks down. The crystal was now half way into Ash's hand. Ash briefly freaks out, but soon remembers that the light was already apart of him and was now returning to his soul. The idea of a part of his soul being separate of him was weird, but at least this meant it was back in him. Ash shakes his head and then looks at Satoshi. He let's go of his tie and coughs and looks away.

"I'm...I'm sorry about that. It's just...I'm not Edward. Why would you even call me that?" Ash asked, a bit confused. Satoshi hugs him and smiles. "Well, because you and him ARE the same person. Remember, you and that 'boogeyman' are one and the same." Satoshi said. Ash growls and lifts Satoshi up. **"NO! I AM NOT EDWARD HYDE! LUC COMFERMED THAT THE MONSTER AND I AREN'T THE SAME! IT'S...IT'S NOT ME! IT WAS NEVER ME! STOP LYING!"** Ash roared. Suddenly pain coursed through his body. Ash quickly notices that the crystal was now fully inside of him and is the reason he was feeling so much pain. Ash let's go of Satoshi and holds himself. Ash screams in pain, unable to stop the crystal. **'Why am I feeling this much pain? Is...Is what Satoshi said true? Is this pain being caused by me rejected that part of me?'** Ash asked himself. He soon shocked his head. **'NO! That monster isn't me! I am not a monster anymore! I am a good boy! A good boy!'** Ash yelled inside, however that only made the pain worsen. Ash falls to his knees with his hands stopping his fall. His body began to change. His hair grew longer, his fingernails became claws, his teeth grew into fangs, and his eyes were changing into a deep monstrous red color. Ash lifts his head up and roars in pain. It then stared at Satoshi with it's monstrous lizard red eyes. Satoshi froze in fear. 'Ash' then gets hit by a tranquilizer dart. Ash falls over and drifts into a 'second' sleep phase with a small protective 'bubble' around him. Satoshi sighs in relief and looks to where that tranquilizer came from. He sees Luc, Ash's guardian, walk up to the bubble. The guardian had very spikey blue hair, cold red eyes, wore a hat with a feather, wore a blue cap and vest, and a blue business suite. The man stops a few inches from the bubble and sighs, then glares at Satoshi. "You..." Luc coldly said. Satoshi puts up his hands. "Woah, don't look at me like that. I didn't do this to him. He was supposed to return to his regular form, but Edward's personality messed with him." Satoshi explained as best as possible. Luc growls. "'Return to NORMAL'!? Are you saying that Eddie is 'supposed' to be apart of Ash!?" Luc yelled, not accepting what Satoshi said. Satoshi gulped. "Y-yes." He said, a bit scared. Luc groans as he holds the bridge of his nose. "You know what? What ever. I don't care if 'Eddie' is supposed to be apart of Ash's soul or not. I need to return Ash to normal after the crap you and that Xuchilbara put him through." Luc said. Satoshi blinked. "Xuchilbara? I feel like I know that creature." Satoshi said. Luc smirks. "Oh really. Hey, maybe Xuchilbara is actually you, and YOU'RE the reason we've been through so much. It makes the most sense to me." Luc said. Satoshi nodded just to amuse the man. While the theory did seem plausible, Satoshi knew that it wasn't him who was Xuchilbara. If it was, it would've been him who got split into two, and Ash would've met either 'big brother' or 'the king of Pokelantis' instead of Edward. Satoshi soon walked away. He had to give Ash some space for now, and if Eddie really was taking over Ash, he had to be ready to fight back. Meanwhile, Luc looked at the bubble. "Don't worry, master Ash. I'll help you recover from this." He said.

(Meanwhile.)

Ash and Edward scream in pain and then fall to the ground after Ash had fallen asleep. Pikachu was utterly confused by Eddie's sudden unconscious. Tobias sighs and walks over to Eddie. He pulls out a collar and puts it on the man. The two 'boys' scream in pain, and then became silent. Tobias hums and then walks over to Ash. When he touches the boy, Pikachu growls at the man, which catches his attention. "Pika! Pi Pikachu! Pi Pi! Chachu?" Pikachu yelled in anger and confusion. Tobias sighs. "I'm sorry for Darkrai hitting your friend with the attack, but you shouldn't be so mad. After all Eddie is uncompensated." Tobias said as he takes Ash off the giant web as all the bug Pokémon release the web around Ash's hands. The mouse asks as to why Ash being hit by the Dark Void would make Eddie fall asleep which only Darkrai understood. The man smirks and lays Ash on the floor. He then turns to the mouse. "I bet you're wondering why Eddie fell asleep even though only Ash was hit by the attack, well it's because the two have been psychologically linked by the guardian's and Eddie's powers, so whatever happens to Ash, happens to Eddie and visa versa. And as you know, Eddie wants the guardian's powers, however, he did not expect Ash attacking back, and the effects of the guardian's role on his mind, so I guess he decided that if he sealed Ash away, he then wouldn't have to deal with those responsibilities. But that's only a spit ball reason as to why Eddie brought you and Ash here. For all we know, there could be a deeper reason to this. But we can't stay now. Eventually Eddie will wake up and try to attack me. I need to send him to jail before that could happen." Tobias said. Pikachu nodded. Tobias pulls out a cellphone. He presses some buttons and after a while, he was talking to someone on the phone. Pikachu sighs and looks at Ash. His best friend was now mumbling in oddly rage. Just what was going through his friend's mind? Was Eddie attacking him and trying to take over his mind? Pikachu sighs. He wanted to shock Ash out of his nightmare, but it would also mean that it would also mean it would wake Eddie as well. Pikachu sighed. He never dealt with someone 'sharing' one of his friend's mind's before and it was weird. So many questions ran through the mouse's mind, but the most important one was 'how can he expel this monster out of Ash permanently?'.

After a few minutes, police men entered the room and dragged Eddie away. The town's officer Jenny walks over to Tobias and salutes him. "You did good, Tobias. Now this maniac is finally under-arrest and the tournament doesn't have to worry about cancelling. But...what are you going to do with that boy? Who is he anyways?" Jenny asked. The man smiles. "Him, oh, he's just a friend of mine who helped me caught this monster, however he was accidently hit by one of Darkrai's dark Void attacks, but don't worry, he'll be fine. I just need to take him back to the Pokémon center." Tobias said. Jenny tilted her head. "You sure? He was kidnapped by this monster after all. He might need some psychological help." Jenny said. Tobias smiles. "No, he's fine. However, because I will be taking Ash back to the center, I won't be accompanying you to deliver Eddie to jail." Tobias said, becoming serious. Jenny nodded. Darkrai picks up Ash and Pikachu climbs onto Tobias' shoulder. Pikachu glared at Tobias as they exit the building. He wasn't trusting Tobias after what had happened, and Ash was still grunting in rage. Tobias soon walked over to a car. He opens the back door and Darkrai buckles Ash into place. Pikachu jumps onto Ash's shoulder as Tobias recalls Darkrai back into it's Pokeball. Tobias then closed the door and entered the passenger's side. The driver of the car was a woman with white hair and a black dress. Pikachu didn't like her and hoped this wasn't just another trap. After everyone was buckled, the woman drove them back to the Pokémon center.

Once they parked in front of the center, the woman and Tobias unbuckled and exit the car. Pikachu look at the building to make sure that they were at the destination and then unbuckles Ash. Once Pikachu had done that, Tobias opened the door and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder since he didn't want to be on the woman's. Soon the woman picks Ash up and the two walk into the center. Meanwhile, the gang was sitting in main square, watching TV, when they heard people gasping in shock at something. The gang turns towards the entrance and gasps in shock as they look at their friend. Ash was now in a peaceful sleep, but that it didn't calm his friends' nerves. They were still in shock that Tobias and a mysterious woman were bringing in a slumbering Ash. The gang rushes over to their friend and stop in front of Tobias. Pikachu jumps into Misty's arms and began to cry. Misty hugs him and pets his fur to calm him down. This made the gang even more concerned. Iris looks at the 'champion'. "Tobias, what happened? What happened to Ash?" Iris asked. Tobias sighs. "Slow down. First, Miss Fairwater, please place Ash on his bed. Nurse Joy, please escort my friend to his room while I explain to the children what has happened to their friend. Oh, and I'll explain everything to you as soon as you're done." He said which upsets Iris. Nurse Joy, who was at the reception, sighs and walks over to the woman who had already walked over to the counter while Tobias had explained his orders. Soon the two women take Ash to the Unova group's room. Once they were gone, Tobias explained everything about what happened to Ash other than the fact that Eddie was the little boy he took to the trap, instead he explained that Eddie just used the boy to bring Ash to the trap. He also explained Ash's weird connect with Eddie to make them understand how Ash and Eddie could both be unconscious at the same time. After the long explanation, the team was more confused than ever, but accepted what Tobias has said.

After the women returned from the group's room, the gang decided to go back to their rooms to check on Ash. Once they entered their room, they could hear Ash peacefully snoring. They look over Ash in amazement. "Wow, I still can't believe he had to be dragged into the center." Cilan said with worry. Tracy nodded. "Yeah. And I can't believe this all started with a little kid looking for his father." Iris said, very confused. Misty sighs. "I don't know why that kid would help Eddie, but maybe Ash can answer a few things Tobias keep vague." Misty said. The others nodded. They soon noticed that Misty and Tracy weren't leaving. "Why are you still here?" Iris kindly asked. Misty blushed and Tracy chuckles. "O-oh, well, someone has to make sure nothing bad happens to him." Misty said as she blushed. Tracy smiles. "Plus, what kind of friends would we be if we don't care of Ash when he's in trouble." Tracy said. Iris smirked then looked at Cilan who was smirking as well. "You're not fooling us. We know that you have a crush on Ash, Misty. And we know you're only covering her, Tracy." Iris said. Misty and Tracy blush. "Wh-what? Of-of course not. He's just a friend. Besides, he tends to get into a lot of trouble." Misty said. Cilan calmly smiles. "Don't worry, Misty. We'll watch over Ash. If anything happens, we'll tell you." Cilan said. Misty nodded, then she and Tracy left. Iris sighs. "She sure is stubborn." Iris said. Cilan nodded. Cilan then looks at Ash. "I still wonder what happened to him." He asked. Iris agrees. Little did they know that things were only going to get worse.


	8. Chapter 7

ch. 7

 **Hey, it's Aura. Thankfully this chapter was much easier to deal with than the last, but due to college, I've been much slower dealing with it and the other chapters. Don't worry though, I will finish this story and Satoshi Jekyll and the Family series, it's just going to take some time. Anyways, onto the story.**

Team Rocket sigh as they looked at a book that showed the 'creation of the world', which all three had a copy of. After the arrest of Eddie Jackal, they were sent to the local church to get new instructions. They've been helping Tobias and the police search for Eddie, but now that he was in jail, things had finally return to normal. Thankfully they were able to switch out of those stuffy cloaks they were forced to wear and back into their casual disguises. Since Mr. Perlis couldn't tell the locals about his involvement with Team Rocket, they were passed as just friends of Mr. Perlis. "Man this 'religion' is weird. I can't believe you guys believe in this stuff." James said to the leader the church named Bishop Hudson. The gang were sitting in the front seats of the church with the bishop at the very front of the room behind a stand. The bishop sighed. "Of course. But it's a shame you don't believe in it. The amount of members in our cause has been dwindling, especially since Alessa killed one of our high priestess." Hudson said. Meowth smiles. "Hey, don't be so glum. You'll get your revenge. But first you have to awaken this Valtiel guy. Speaking of which, why do you have two names for guy? I've heard it was also Xuchilbara from one of your fellow members." Meowth asked, at bit confused. The Bishop sighed. "Yes it is strange. Originally, the natives of this land called him Xuchilpara, but our ancestors changed his name in order for him to fit with our religion. I do not know why the sect of him changed his name into Valtiel, but the name does mean servant of god which Xuchilbara is, so I don't mind it." The Bishop said. Meowth sighed. Suddenly Jessie 'ooh'ed at something in her book. "Look at this. There's a spell to control Xuchilbara. If we can use this, then we could control the twerp." Jessie said. She and the others already knew that Xuchilbara was supposedly in Ash, and that made her happy knowing there was a way to control it. The bishop nodded. "Yes. We used to use that spell on the most heinous of criminals to make them pay for their sins. However, ever since Alessa made Xuchilbara her guardian, we haven't been able to use it. Hopefully when we reawaken, Xuchilbara, we'll be able to do this again. However, even if Xuchilbara listened to that spell again, none of you could use it. You don't have the mystical capabilities that our high priestesses have." The man said. Jessie sighed.

"So what does Perlis want us to do anyways?" Meowth asked. The Bishop sheepishly smiles. "Well, it seems that we have misplace two important items for the ritual. One is a red book named the Crimson Tome, and the other a device called 'Flouros'. The Flouros is a magical device like your Pokeballs, but it holds a creature much more powerful than a simple rat. The creature it holds is called Yveltal, a monster who once attacked the town a long, long time ago. It looks like a small pyramid that can be held in your hands and it has ancient writing on it. We believe these items are in the basement. So if you fallow me, I'll take you there." Hudson said. The group nodded, agreeing to the job since they didn't have anything better to do. The gang and Hudson got up and walked towards the west side of the church. The Team Rocket gang then walked down a couple of hallways and then down a flight of stairs, following Hudson. The bishop was holding a flashlight which was helpful since the place was getting dark. "So, how come you didn't let one of your own people get these important items?" Jessie asked. The question had been in the back of her mind for quite some time since the man asked them to do this task. The man smirked. "Well, they aren't the most helpful of people. The young ones are either too busy with their work or experiencing the wonders of god to be of use, and the older ones are either dead, or busy. You, on the other hand, have enough time for us to spare, so we don't have to worry about you wasting time." Hudson said. Meowth frowned. "But when are we going to get our supplies? We've already helped you guys out with that twerp, so you owe us!" Meowth snapped. He was annoyed that they didn't get any money for helping out Tobias. They had been hunting Eddie for quite a number of days now which was not only annoying, but those were days they could have been using to capture all of the Pokémon Center's Pokémon.

The man puts on a forced smile. "Oh, you'll get your rewards." He said as he looked at Meowth. He and the other people at the church already knew that Meowth was actually not a human, which kind of annoyed Jessie and James. But they were weirded out by the fact the priestesses and monks were all terrified or angry at Meowth for no real reason. "By the way, what's your deal against Meowth?" James asked. The man looks at James. "O-oh, it's nothing really. We're just shocked that a Pokémon can talk." The man said. The gang wasn't impressed. They've seen quite a number of reactions from people, but the ones these people gave were really unsettling. But they sighed since they didn't care enough to question it further. They soon stop in front of a door. "Alright, here's the basement. It's a little cramped in there, but you should be able to find everything." The man said as he opened the door. The gang nodded. The man soon handed James the flashlight. "Here. The place's lighting is shot so you need to use a flashlight." The man said. James smirked. "Don't worry, we've already have flashlights." James said as he and Jessie pull out small flashlights. They had enough brightness that the larger one wasn't needed. "Oh. Okay. Thank you, friends of Mr. Perlis." The man said then walked off. The gang smirked as they enter the room. They looked around. The place was small with a dresser closet to the right of them, a large dresser with a large mirror on it next to the dresser closet, and about six boxes in the room. There were cobwebs all over the place and it looked very old. The gang smiled. "This is going to be easy." Jessie said. They soon began to go through the boxes, which were full of books. Meowth got bored after the seventh book he skimmed through and began to search the floor for the 'Flouros' item. After 30 minutes, James became stumped. "Jessie, could you remind me what the title of the book we're searching for? These books are so strange that it's hard to tell what we're looking for." James asked. Jessie sighs in annoyance. "We're looking for a red covered book named 'The Crimson Tome'. I've found one book with a similar name on it, but the cover's not red. Though this book does have a lot of interesting things in it." Jessie said, annoyed. James nodded. Meanwhile, Meowth looked through the cabinet, but eventually found that nothing was in it. Meowth pops out of the cabinet and sighs. "The Emperor is coming…" A very soft voice said followed by a chuckle. Meowth looks around and then cleans his ears. "Probably just the wind or something." Meowth said as he shrugged.

Meowth soon walked over to the dresser and opened the first drawer but nothing was in it. He sighed as he closed it. He soon opened the second drawer. He lifts himself onto his tip-toes so he could see inside of the drawer, but it too was empty. Meowth sighs. "Hahaha. He's coming. He's going to awaken soon. Just you wait." The voice from earlier said. Meowth looks around in fear, but he couldn't see anything that could have said that. Meowth sighs. "Get a grip of ya'self. You're losin' it." Meowth whispered to himself. Jessie looks up from one of the books she was skimming through. "Huh? Did you say something, Meowth?" She asked. Meowth blushed and waved his hands. "What, me? Naugh. I didn't say a thing." He said. Jessie nodded and then continued looking through the books and boxes. Meowth sighs and climbs onto the dresser. He opens last drawer and inside he finds a red book. "Hey! I've found somethin'!" Meowth yelled. The two look away from their books and walk over to Meowth. Jessie puts her hands on her hips as she looks at the cat Pokémon. "What is it now?" She asked. Meowth smiles and pulls out the book. "TA DA!" He yelled out. The two look at the book and its title and smiled. It was the book they were looking for. "Good job, Meowth. Now we've just need to find this 'Flouros' thing." James said as he grabs the book. Meowth nodded. James then put the book into his backpack. Suddenly the gang could hear a faint laughter coming from behind the dresser. Meowth eyes shrank. It sounded like Ash Ketchum. "Um…g-guys, d-did you heard that from behind the dresser. It sounded like a deranged laugh from what I heard." Meowth said. The two looked at each other in fear. "Yeah. I heard it too. But…what was that?" James asked. Jessie soon got an idea. "Maybe it was just the wind coming from a secret room. And when there's secret passage ways, there's usually treasure." Jessie said with confidence. The group soon smiled. "Alright, let's move this thing!" Meowth yelled out. The gang nodded. Meowth jumps off the dresser and the gang soon pushed the dresser to a deserted corner.

Once they did that, they looked back to the place where the dresser once was. And just like they expected there was a 'secret' door, but oddly there was a strange symbol on the door that they had never seen before. It was like a hoop with a circle inside a circle, but inside the second circle were three other circles. There were many strange symbols in the circles, but the most recognizable was an eye at the top of the circle. The gang was creeped out by it. Jessie shooked her head and smiled. "This is going to be easy." She said. Jessie walked up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Jessie growls as she twists the nob even more, but it was no use, the door remained closed. Meowth coughs which catches Jessie's attention. Meowth smiles. "Allow me." He said. Jessie under stood what he meant so she picked him up and put in front of the lock. He extends one of his claws and began to use it to unlock the door. After a few seconds or so, Meowth let go of the lock and grabbed the door handle. He then opened the door. Jessie and Meowth smiled. "See, easy." Jessie remarked. James just sighed in response. Soon the gang looked into the room. It was small, had a regular shrine at the end of it, and a large golden thrown with a small pyramid thing on it. The gang's eyes temporally turned to dollar signs as they looked at the thrown. They soon rushed into the room, not noticing that the room was pitch black in the areas not shined by their flash lights. But they didn't care as they rushed to the throne, but as soon as they touched it, it turned into an ordinary chair. "WHAT!?" The three thieves yelled out in rage. Jessie wanted to be angry, but what just happened boggled her mind. She turned to her comrades. "D-did you see that?" She asked. James and Meowth nodded with shock and rage. Jessie soon growled in rage as she picked up the item on the chair. "What's going on!?" Jessie yelled out in rage. Suddenly they hear the laughter from earlier, but it was clear and sharp in the room. James gulps and points his flashlight to the source of the sound. He soon regretted doing that. Bonded to the wall with a large collar was a strange and horrifying creature. The creature kind of looked like a Houndoom, but it was larger than a normal Houndoom and its head was that of a human with long black hair and green eyes. It smirked with delight as it looked at the horrified humans and Meowth. They couldn't comprehend what they were seeing. It looked like a mix between a dog Pokemon and a human.

The creature chuckles at their suffering. "The emperor is awaking. He's going to destroy you petty humans and take back the town. Hahahahaha. He's going to rule this land! All hail the emperor!" The monster yelled, its voice sounding like Ash's. The group screams in horror and runs away. The creature continued to laugh which they could still hear as they ran. They ran up the stairs and continue to run until they were in the middle of the church. They pant as they stopped. They look back and shivered in fear. Jessie looks at James. "Wh-what was that!?" She yelled. James shivered as he thought about the 'monster' they saw. "I-I don't know. But whatever it was, at least we're far away from it." James said in fear, but it didn't comfort Jessie. Suddenly they heard a voice. "Is something wrong? What's this 'it' you talk about?" A male voice asked. The gang turned around and saw it was the bishop. Jessie growled. "There's a hideous, disturbing creature in the secret basement room! I demand an explanation!" Jessie yelled. The man was surprised by this. "Secret basement? I don't know what you're talking about? The church is doesn't have one." Hudson said. Jessie raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You're sure you're not lying to cover up that monster?" Jessie asked. The man smirked. "I'm sure. We would never do that because it's too obvious, and it could be found easily. If we really wanted a secret room here, we would have placed it somewhere less obvious. Where at least you wouldn't have found it. But we're getting off topic, what was this monster you saw?" He asked. The gang shivered as they thought back to the creature they had seen. "It was ugly to say the least. It had the body of a Houndoom but the head of a human with black hair and green eyes. It was chained to a wall so thankfully it couldn't attack us." James said. Jessie and Meowth nodded in agreement. Meanwhile the old man's eyes widened. "So pops, do ya know what that thing was?" Meowth asked. The man shocked his head. "No. Whatever it was, it was clearly was a monster. However, there is no regular 'creature' or 'Pokémon' that are like that monster. Is there anything else about this monster you know about? Maybe there's something about it and the room you were in that will help us understand where it came from." The bishop said.

"Yes. It could speak perfect Japanese, the room it was in had a strange circle symbol with an eye at the top, and it said that 'the Emperor was awakening', 'that it'll kill all humans', and 'he will take back this town'. Honestly, I'm surprised that it even has a master." Jessie said. James and Meowth agreed. They soon noticed the distraught look on the old man's face. "Hey, is something wrong?" Meowth asked. The man nodded. "Yes. Something terrible has happened. Now I know what that monster was." The man said. Team Rocket were surprised by this news. "So what was it!?" Jessie yelled. The man sighed. "It and the room you were in were constructs of the guardian warning us that the guardian is going insane. If we don't do something soon, our plans of awakening him will be for not." The man said. Team Rocket tilted their heads. "Um…gramps, what are you talking about? How can a 'guardian' make a room out of nothing and…that thing?" Jessie asked, utterly confused. The man sighed. "I forgot, you don't know anything about our guardian nor what he can do. Our guardian is Xuchilbara and he is a powerful creature who can create creatures to attack people who've sinned. However, the guardian would never normally call himself 'the emperor' nor would he just randomly create such a horrifying monster. So he has to be going insane." The bishop said. The group gulped. They didn't like the idea that the twerp was going mad. "So, what should we do?" James asked. Hudson sighed. "Unfortunately you can't do anything. You don't have the abilities to use our spells, so I'm sending our most powerful persist instead to go search for the reason why our guardian is going insane. Besides, you still need to find the book." The bishop said as he looked at the strange pyramid thing in Jessie's hands. James smiles and pulls out the book from his backpack. The bishop smiles and grabs the items. "Good. Unfortunately you'll have to wait for Mr. Perlis to come back before you can get your reward." The man said. Team Rocket groaned in annoyance. "While you're waiting, why don't you read more about our culture? I'm sure it'll be interesting." The man said as he points to a cabinet. Team Rocket sighs. "Alright. But we'd better get our reward." Jessie said. The man nodded. Team Rocket then walked off to the cabinet.

(Back with Ash and the gang.)

Iris sighs as she looks at Ash. He still hadn't recovered from Darkrai's attack, and it didn't look like he was having a peaceful nap. He was grunting and moaning in his sleep. Thankfully, Cilan had decided to go get them some food while they waited, however, Iris was still bored. She looked at Axew and sighs. "I'm telling you, Axew, this place is cursed. Just look at Ash. His behavior and mood have gotten worse ever since we've arrived here. No wonder my village said it had a bad vibe. If anymore bad things happen, we'll have to just forget about the tournament." Iris said. Axew agreed. He really didn't like this place at all and the nightmares were only fueling that feeling. He then looked at Pikachu who was sleeping next to Ash. He jumps out of Iris' hair and walks up to Pikachu. He pokes it just to wake it up, since maybe it could figure out how to wake up Ash. Pikachu grunts at the pokes, which causes Axew to stop. Pikachu gets up, yawns and stretches. Iris smiles. "Good to see that you've finally woken up, Pikachu. Hopefully that means Ash will do the same." Iris said. Pikachu nods, but suddenly a groan came out of Ash. Iris smiles as she walks up to the boy. Ash lifts his messy black hair and grumbles to himself. "Good, you're finally awake." She said as she watches the boy wake up again. Ash gets up and looks at her in confusion and shock. Iris smiles back, but soon notices his eye color had changed to blood red. "Iris? Axew? What am I doing here? What happened to Tobias?" Ash asked. Iris smiles. "That's easy, Tobias defeated Eddie and saved you. Unfortunately Darkrai hit you with Dark Void, so after the police took Eddie away, Tobias and Miss Claudia had to carry you back here." Iris said. Ash was shocked by this…but was soon happy. The smile on his face was very disturbing and derange, which creeped Iris and the Pokémon out. Ash softly chuckles to himself. "Yes! Eddie's finally gone! Now I don't have to worry about him anymore and we can be free to compete in the tournament." Ash said out loud. Which made Iris nod. He was right. Now that Eddie was gone, that meant things would finally return to normal. She thought it was strange that Ash was so happy at the moment, but she decided to shrug it off since they had been kidnapped before, and that never got Ash down.

'It's a shame that the election campaign I did will have to go to waste. But at least it means that those weirdos won't be following me anymore. Still…what were they after me for in the first place? How did Mr. Danvers even know about me?' Ash thought, but soon noticed something wrong with the statement in his head. 'Wait? Election? I wasn't a part of the election that was Eddie. And what weirdos was I talking about? The only weirdos I know are Team Rocket…maybe that's who was stalking me. But why?' Ash soon held his head. His thoughts felt very foggy. He soon 'remembered' cloaked people chasing after him in the night, befriending the wild Pokémon in a large forest near a large wooden house, and talking to a large group of people at the amusement park. Ash closes his eyes and shakes the memories away. 'Ugh. What was that all about? Why was I remembering the events from the last few days? Then again my head is all fuzzy so maybe something's not right, but what? I feel like my normal self, so everything should be normal.' He asked himself. He was very confused. "Ash, what the hell is going with you? You're acting very strange." Iris asked. Ash glares at her and growls. "Why don't you just mind your own business!? I am so tired of you constantly teasing me and calling me a kid! You have no IDEA what I've been through! That monster kidnapped me and you act like it was no big deal! If I were in your shoes, I would be more worried than acting a bitch!" He snapped. Iris and Axew gasp at Ash's langue. Iris soon became very angry. "Ash, you jerk! I was just asking a normal question. You don't have to be such a jerk about it! Besides, you were the one who was acting no silently about being kidnapped, so I thought I was being okay. What's gotten into you!?" Iris asked in anger. Ash snaps back to normal and looks away as he sits up. "I-I don't know. I-I'm s-sorr…s-sorry. I…I didn't mean it…I just feel…different. It's like something was unlocked from inside of me and now I'm different. I wonder what caused that." Ash asked a bit confused. Iris raised an eyebrow. "'Unlocked'? Ash, what are you talking about?" Iris asked, confused. Ash sighs. "I…I don't know. I just…don't feel like my normal self...'something' happened to me and now I'm like this. I just…don't know what's going on with me." Ash confessed. Iris sighs. She wanted to know what exactly was going on with Ash, what happened to the kid, and why he was helping that monster.

But before she could ask those questions, the dorm door opened up. Cilan, Tracy, and Misty came into the room; Cilan and Tracy holding trays of food while Misty held open the door. Ash notices her and sleazily smiles. Misty sees his eyes and froze in fear. "What's the matter, Misty? Aren't you glad I'm awake?" Ash asked, however the tone in his voice was very off. Misty moves out of the door and sits next to Ash. Cilan and Tracy enter the room and give Iris and Ash the trays. "Ash? Is…is that you?" Misty asked. Ash chuckled. "Of course it's me, love. But why the long face? Aren't you happy to see me?" Ash asked as he puts his hand on Misty's face. Misty shocks away from him. "Yes I'm happy to see you Ash, but you're acting like a creep. What's gotten into you? You've never acted like this before." Misty said. The gang nodded. Ash sighed. "I don't know. I just…feel different." Ash said, then began to eat his lunch. An idea soon came to Tracy. "Do you…do you think Eddie somehow messed with your mind before Tobias came to rescue you? You do act a lot more like him than yourself." Tracy said. Ash looks at Tracy with surprise. "What? NO WAY! I'm nothing like Eddie! I…I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm not like Eddie!" Ash yelled, sounding more like himself. The gang didn't know what to do. They wanted to believe Ash, but his eyes were still ruby-red and had an unnatural feel to them. Ash growls and finishes up his meal. Iris sighs, sits down, and eats her meal. Once they were done, Ash looked away from the group and held himself. He felt so conflicted inside. Ash closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He soon looked at Misty. "I-I'm ...s-sor…sorry." Ash said, but he was struggling to say it. His friends noticed it, and the fact that Ash was holding himself. "Ash, I think we need to take you to Tobias. After all, he seems very well informed about Eddie's powers so maybe he can clarify if Eddie has done something to you." Iris said. Ash sighs. "I'm fine, guys. Really. Besides, we need to get some battling done. The tournament is going to start tomorrow, and I'm not going to lose." Ash said. Cilan points his finger up. "Um…Ash, before we do that, could you please tell us what happened to you? Tobias told us a bit, but we want to know what really went on." Cilan said. Ash nodded. "Sure. It all start with the kid and me entering the museum. At the end of the last room something strange happened. I vaguely remember what happened, but then the kid revealed himself as Eddie. I was tied by him up and he was about to leave but then Tobias came in and pushed him into the room. He hit me, and then Tobias knocked me out. I don't remember what happened next though." Ash said. The group was shocked by this.

"What? That doesn't sound like something Tobias would do." Misty said. Ash smirked. "Yeah, well, Tobias is a bad man. After all, he uses Legendries on his team! No one should be able to do that!" Ash yelled. The group was surprised by Ash's sudden hatred of the man. Ash seemed perfectly happy when Tobias was around, so what was the sudden shift? Ash soon held his head. "But…I think it was an accident. He…He didn't mean to do it. He was just trying to capture me…I mean Eddie." Ash said, his voice and eyes were back to normal and his statement was an obvious contradiction. The group blinked. "Ash, maybe…maybe Eddie is controlling you. You're not making sense, and you seem to be a little confused." Cilan said. Ash froze at that thought but soon shocked his head. "No way! I would notice if Eddie was inside of me, and he isn't. I'm just Ash, that's all." Ash said as he angrily looked at Iris and Cilan. Misty soon smirked. "I don't know. I heard from Brock that you didn't notice you were possessed the last it happened." Misty said. Ash blushed as his eyes turned red. He soon looked away as his cheeks puffed. "Wh-what are you talking about? I haven't been possessed before." Ash lied but nobody bought it. Misty smiled. "Oh come on, you can't lie to us. I heard it all from Brock. You were possessed by some evil king, and now you're trying to deny it. Now cough it up and admit it." Misty said. Ash growls as he turns to her. "Why would I be that stupid, insensitive, manipulating 'gentleman'!? He and I are not the same person! Now stop talking about him!" Ash yelled. He soon covered his mouth. His friends tilted their heads in confusion. Pikachu was the most baffled by what Ash said. "'Gentleman'? 'The same person'? Ash, what the hell are you talking about? We didn't even suggest that you and this 'king' were the same person. Plus he's a spirit, how could you and he possibly be the same person?" Iris asked, utterly confused, but soon smirked, "Or is that story about you being possessed false, and what really happened was just you going bonkers?" Iris asked. Ash sighed. He didn't meant for his message to be conveyed like that.

"No, Iris. I didn't go crazy. The king of Pokelantis really did possessed me, but I got him out. I…I don't know why I said those things though." Ash said as he holds himself. Iris and Cilan frown. "Ash, you should at least go to a doctor. You're not in the most stable of mindsets." Cilan said. Ash sighs. "Cilan I told you, I'm alright. Don't worry, I won't let another odd outburst happen again." Ash said, however, none of his friends believed him. Ash looked at Misty and smiled. "Hey, let's forget about this incident. After all, Eddie is in prison so we shouldn't worry about him. Besides I want a battle before the tournament begins. It's been so long since we've last fought, Misty." Ash said. However, his voice was back to being odd. It sounded more like Eddie's. The gang sighed. They were tired of arguing with him so they agreed. The gang then left the room, with Cilan and Iris returning the empty trays of food to the food court, and Ash and the others walking to the battle court. But when they arrived at the court, they soon found out that it was already being used by a familiar 'friend'. "Alright Serperior, use Vine Whip." Trip yelled out. Serperior grows whips out of the sides of its neck and uses them to pick up and throw a large Golem. Misty and Tracy blush in embarrassment as they notice the battle. "Whoops. It looks like this place is already being used. I guess we'll have to come back another time." Tracy said. Misty nodded. Ash, however, just chuckled in excitement. "Alright, WHO WANTS TO FIGHT WITH ME!?" Ash yelled, causing Trip, the referee, and the other trainer to stop the battle and look at Ash in surprise. "Ash!? Wh-what are you doing here? Can't you see we're in the middle of a battle!?" Trip yelled in rage and confusion. Ash chuckles as he looks at Trip. "Oh, was I interrupting something? I couldn't tell. It just looks like you were just practicing." Ash said with a wild smile on his face. Trip scowls at the boy. Ash chuckles. "That's the look I want to see, Trip. Say, why don't we battle now?" Ash asked, egging Trip to battle him. Misty angrily looks at Ash. "ASH! Can't you tell they're still battling? Wait your turn," Misty said, very upset. Ash glares at her as he grabs her shirt. He picks her up and growls. "Who said you could talk, Bitch!? Did I give you permission!? NO! NOW SHUT UP!" Ash roared. Everyone gasped in shock at what Ash said. Ash blinks as he looks into Misty's eyes.

Ash soon realized what he said and puts her down. He covers his mouth and looks down. His eyes returned to normal as he processes what he had said. He looks at Misty with sorrowful eyes. "M-Misty, I…I didn't mean to." Ash said. Misty began tear up. Ash tried to put a hand on her, but she soon slapped it away. "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU MONSTER!" She yelled, then ran off. Ash runs after her. "Misty, come back. I didn't mean to say what I did." Ash said as he runs after her. After a while, they were in the streets, however there so many people that it was hard to tell where Misty was. Ash looked around. "MISTY! MISTY! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Ash yelled out, however he could see where she was and she didn't replied back. Ash sighed and then looked at Pikachu. "I really screwed up, Pikachu." Ash said. Pikachu agreed. Ash looked at his hands. "But…I've never acted that way before...well, except for that one time." Ash said. Pikachu knew all too well what Ash was talking about. It was the Pokelantis Incident their friends learned about. However, what Ash said was much worse than anything that monster ever said. Pikachu wasn't even sure what 'bitch' even meant, but it was mean. Ash soon realized something. "Maybe…maybe they were right. Maybe I do need to find a doctor or something. I-I feel like I'm falling apart inside." Ash said as he holds his chest. "But…where do I go?" Ash sighs. He felt so lost. Suddenly he felt pain surging through his body. Ash fell to his knees and began to pant in pain. Pikachu was surprised by this. 'Monstrous creature. Listen to my words. You are my creature. You will kill Mr. Danvers and burn his house. You will be the one who will be blamed for his murder, and I will become mayor. And if you dare to disobey, you're true self will suffer.' A voice said, however Ash didn't know who it belonged to. Ash growls in rage. "Never." Ash whispered, confusing Pikachu. 'Stupid Demon, you WILL OBEY ME!' The man yelled and the pain increased. Ash screams in pain, causing everyone in the vicinity to stop and look at the boy. "Stop it! STOP IT! Please stop!" Ash yelled in pain. Everyone was confused and scared. 'THEN SUMBIT!' The voice yelled. "NEVER!" Ash roars in pain as his body shifted to be more like a beast's. Ash looks up and views all the eyes staring at him. Ash became fearful. He looked around, looking for an escape. However, his head was now buzzing in pain. Ash jumps over the crowd and into the streets. Pikachu hanged onto Ash's head for dear life as his best friend jumps. Ash lands on top of a car, and then jumps off into the road. Ash roars in pain, scaring everyone before he rushed off.

Misty, who was watching all of this from a safe distance, looked at the boy in shock. She wasn't expecting this to happen. Misty soon runs after the boy, who was now running on the other side of the street which was becoming clear as people moved out of the way of the boy. After much traversing, Ash, Pikachu, and Misty reached the police station. Ash and Misty soon rushed into the station. Ash stops and sniffs the air. He smirks as he catches a scent. Misty stops and caught her breath. Ash soon notices her and became fearful. He steps backward. Misty looks up at Ash and froze. Ash was hardly recognizable. His eyes were now lizard like, his teeth had become large fangs, his hair was much more pointed out, and the way he move wasn't like a human. His head was twitching in a very unhuman way. "Ash?" Misty asked in shock. Ash looks away. He looked ashamed of himself. Misty puts a hand on his shoulder. "Ash, what's gotten into you? Is…is it Eddie? Is he doing this to you?" She asked. Pikachu agreed. He had never seen Ash like this before. Ash holds his head, which stops the twitches. Soon one of the police men walked up to the boy. "Sir, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but why are you here? Do you want to report a crime or something?" The man asked. Ash turns to the man and snickers. "Yes, there's something wrong with me…They've done something to me... Something wonderful…" Ash said, then held his head. "NO! THIS ISN'T WONDERFUL! THIS IS TERRIBLE! I'M LOSING MY MIND! I…I want to kill Tobias. He and his Darkrai…they're….they're doing something to me! They're making me feel this pain! They must PAY! You all must pay for their sins!" Ash suddenly roared like a beast. This causes Pikachu and Misty to cower in fear. The police officers didn't like this so they got out their Pokeballs. Ash roars again and grabs Misty. He bites her shoulder and she screams in pain. He soon looks at the cops. He then pointed his right 'hand' at her neck. "Now, if you don't want me to hurt her even more, you'll permit me to see Tobias. Now." Ash threatened. Misty shivers in fear. What's gotten into Ash?

Pikachu couldn't takes this any longer, so he shocked Ash and Misty with a thunderbolt, which causes them to scream in pain. They fall to the ground and the guards surround Ash. Misty recovers first mostly due to the pain in her shoulder. She looks at Ash. He was shaking in fear as he recovers from the shock. He looks up and sees the cops. His eyes shrank in fear as his shacking became fiercer. Suddenly he lost all control as he flings himself onto one of the officer. The other guards grab his arms, but Ash soon flings them away. Ash howls out and then throws Pikachu off his shoulder. Pikachu hits a wall which causes Misty to gasp in surprise. Ash turns to her and she shivers in fear. Ash wasn't Ash anymore. Everything about him was wrong. The only things that made her recognize this monster as her friend was his skin, his hair color, and the clothes he wore. His finger nails were now claws and he looked much bulkier. Misty never felt so scared before, and what made it worse was that she was looking at her best friend. "A-Ash, wh-what happened to you? H-how did you turn from my best friend into this…this monster?" Misty asked, hoping her voice could somehow reach him. The creature growls. It soon sniffs the air again and turns around to a corridor. It soon ran off. Misty rushes over to Pikachu and picks him up. She checks him, and thankfully, he was alright. Misty looks at the direction where that monster went. She sighs. She knew going after it wouldn't be smart, but she had to save her friend from whatever had taken him over. She runs after it, going down various hallways until they reached a door. Misty stops a few feet from the creature who was inspecting the door. It looked at the door with confusion. Misty blinked. Did this 'creature' forget how to open a door? She sighed. 'Even as a monster, Ash is still pretty stupid.' Misty thought. 'Ash' notices the sigh and turns around. He smiles at her. Misty gulps, but stood her ground. She couldn't let this 'creature' intimidate her any more. She looks at her wound, it was healing up just fine, and thankfully there was no blood. She then looked back at her 'friend'. "Ash, please, listen to me. You need help. You can't continue on like this. Look at you. You're not even the boy I used to know. Now you're this...this…MONSTER!" Misty yelled. 'Ash' roars and pounces on her. Misty shivers in fear as she looks into 'Ash's' eyes. They were so unhuman and yet…so familiar. She soon remembered Eddie's eyes when he was a monster. She shocked her head. She had to be strong. She lowers her hands so she could grab a Pokeball, but the creature soon grabbed her arms and forced them down and away from her belt. The creature drooled as he looked at her. Misty was very unnerved by this.

What was going on in Ash's mind? Did he really want to make her feel so much fear? The creature soon puts his lips on hers. Misty grunts in pain as she tries to struggle away from the creature. "MR. PERLIS! YOU NEED TO STOP THIS! YOU'RE DRIVING THE GUARDIAN INSANE!" A female voice yelled. This wakes Pikachu up as he gets up. He looks up and sees Ash on top of Misty and was horrified. Thankfully, the creature lets go of Misty and turns his head to the door. He gets off her and goes to the door again. He touches the door knob and opens the door. Misty looks at him with shock. 'So he does know how to use a door. But then why did he stop to look at the door? Was he…was he waiting for me to ketch up?' Misty shivers as she picks herself and Pikachu up. 'Ash' soon enters the room with Misty and Pikachu following behind. Ash soon stopped after a few short steps as they hear another voice. "Not until you tell me who the REAL Edward Hyde is! Most of the town's people know who he is, but NOT ME! WHY ARE YOU NOT TELLING ME!?" The man's voice yelled. This surprises and confuses Misty and Pikachu. 'The "real" Edward Hyde? What does he mean by that? Who is this guy anyways?' Misty asked herself. Ash growls at the voice. Misty blinked. She soon heard a sigh from the previous voice. "It's because you're not worthy enough! You do not have the right to know about the guardian's true identity. I've heard from many of the members that you keep harassing them about the powers of the town, so I think this is justice for all those mistakes you've made. Plus you won't renounce your liking for those monsters, so we can't trust you." The woman said. The man growled. "BULLCRAAAAP!" The male voice yelled out, "I've been your financer for many months now! I DESERVE TO KNOW WHO EDDIE TRULY IS! TOBIAS, TELL ME RIGHT NOW WHO IS THE PERSON YOU TALKED WITH EARLIER AT THE BAR WAS!"

Ash smiles as they hear Tobias sigh. "I'm sorry sir, but I told you. I talked to a group of people at the bar. In fact you were there. Can't you even remember that?" Tobias asked. The man growled. "Of course I remember the group, but who in that group was the REAL Edward Hyde? Was it that 'Misty' girl? I think I heard one of the boys mention her as being a favorite of Eddie." The man asked. Misty froze up at the thought that she and Eddie were somehow connected. "No." Tobias said. Misty sighs in relief. The man soon growled. "Then who is it!? Tobias, I order you to tell me now!" The man yelled. Tobias made an amused sound. "Oh, then ask Mr. Danvers. He knows all about the boy. In fact, he was the one to find out that there was a murderer back in the 19th century under the same name as the boy." Tobias said. Confusing Misty and Pikachu. Ash growls along with the man. "Mr. Danvers? NO WAY! I will never ask him for help. I deserve the election, not him nor Eddie. But don't fool with me about what Danvers knows. I was asking you about what YOU know so NOW TELL ME!" The man yelled, getting really impatient. Ash roars out in rage. "W-what was that?" The man asked in shock. Suddenly Tobias exits one of the cells near the far end of the hall. Tobias turns to his left and looked at Ash with shock. Soon two other people exit the cell. One was Mr. Perlis from the bar, who looked a lot cleaner and nicer than when they last saw him, and the other was a woman dressed in mysterious veils. The man smiles. "Ah the REAL Edward, you've finally arrived. I knew you'd eventually would if you wanted to enact your revenge against those who were hurting your 'mind'. Now be a good boy, and come with us. You're needed to reawaken your true powers." Mr. Perlis said. Ash growls at the man. The woman growls as well. "No, Mr. Perlis, the guardian is not ready. If we try to awaken his powers now, then this whole town will be doomed." The woman said. The man scoffs at this. "Alright, then Edward, tell us who the empress is. Can you at least do that? We promise to stop hurting you if you do." Mr. Perlis said. Ash roars and rushes towards the man. Perlis froze in fear while the woman acted quickly as she pulled out a Pokeball. "Gardevoir, use psychic!" The woman yelled out as she throws the ball. Suddenly out of a burst of light, the woman like Pokémon appeared. Its eyes turned from red to blue and a blue aura soon surround Ash. He was soon stopped in his tracks.

Ash shifted his head a bit as he tried to escape from the attack, but it was no use, he was stuck. Misty blinked before looking at Gardevoir. She smiles. "Thank you, Gardevoir for stopping Ash. I don't know what he was going to do to Mr. big shot, but I'm glad you've stopped him." Misty said. Pikachu agreed. He had finally recovered from Ash's attack. Gardevoir smiles and nods. "Ash, huh? So that's the true name of this boy. I would have never guessed that he was the true form of Eddie." Mr. Perlis said. Misty growls. "What in the world are you talking about? Ash isn't Eddie! Hell, we don't know if he's really this Xuchil-thing Tobias talked about. All we know is Ash is Ash, Eddie is a monster who strangely knows Ash, and they aren't the same person!" Misty yelled. This throws the adults off. Tobias soon thought of a counter-argument. "Alright, say Ash isn't the true form of Eddie, then why is Ash acting like this, huh?" Tobias asked. Misty blinked, but then smirked. "Easy, Eddie possessed or mind-controlled him. Ash has had a bad habit of losing control." Misty said. Mr. Perlis smirked. "I'm sorry to say this, miss, but Eddie has been unconscious ever since Tobias put my special obedience collar on him. I would occasionally shock the body so he could wake up, but he never seems to do so. So how do you explain that other than Ash is making his puppet not work?" The man asked. Misty froze. She didn't know how to explain that, but she was also confused. "His…puppet? What are you talking about?" Misty asked. The man smirked. "I'm saying that the 'Eddie' you've met was just a manifestation of Ash's mind. He's not real. And he only exists because Ash wanted to unleash the 'real' him. Or at least, that's what my friend, Miss Rose, says." The man said as he points his finger at the woman with the Gardevoir. Misty and Pikachu were horrified by this idea, but soon shocked their heads. "NO! I won't accept that. I've been Ash's friend for years now, and Eddie is nothing like him! They may have similar traits, but that's where the similarities end!" Misty yelled. Tobias smirks. "Still that doesn't explain how Eddie could be in Ash. Miss Rose, could you please scan Ash to confirm our 'theory' already? I'm tired of arguing with this little girl." Tobias asked, looking bored. Misty growls while 'Miss Rose' nodded. The woman then looked at Ash, who was still struggling as best as he could. She walks up to the boy and then places her hands on his ears. Her eyes soon glowed light blue and soon Ash's eyes were consumed in the blue light. Ash let out a strange noise as she did this.

(Ash's mind.)

The woman was in a dark, vast, empty landscape filled with black rocks at a large thick tree to her far left. The sky was a storm and wind blew all around her. She looked around and soon noticed Ash looking at her. His eyes were red and monstrous, but there was also the look of sadness in them. His skin was dark green, his hair was much longer than normal, and his body was still ape-like. She walks to the boy, pushing herself against the wind. Her vails flapped against her body as she walked, but her face was kept hidden. She soon reached the tree. Ash gulps as he notices that she was coming closer. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just trying to save you from yourself. As the guardian, you can't go mad, if you do, we'll all burn." She said. The boy soon manically laughs. "I'm sorry lady, but it's too late. I'm already mad. I've always been mad. You've only reminded me of how nuts I really am. Now stop giving me pain and I'll try to not slaughter you all." The boy said, but instead of Ash's voice, it was Eddie's. The woman steps backwards in fear. She soon shocked her head. "NO! You're not mad! Think of your friends! Think of that rat you play with! If you were always mad, then how can you have any friends?" The woman asked. Ash growls. "Who says they're my friends? Hell, how do I know that they even care about me? All they seem to do is yell at me…call me names…call me monster…" 'Ash' said as he holds himself. The woman frowned. This wasn't working at all. "You're not a monster…you're the guardian of this town. You've protected us from disbelievers and those monsters for centuries. You can't be mad if you did that." The woman said. Ash laughs. "Mother loves this place so I have to protect it, Hahahah, but…that doesn't mean I can't kill you stupid humans. Mother won't mind if I do. Mother can't get mad at me because she loves me…she's the only one besides the empress who does." 'Ash' said.

The woman frowned. "Alessa is a demon! She was the one to first corrupt you. She told lies to you to make you first hate the place you're supposed to protect. God wouldn't want you to destroy this holy place, now please, calm down." The woman said. Ash growled. "Liar! You know nothing about her! Of me! You don't know the real me! No one does…not even myself. I…I need to kill that man in order to return things to order. I…I just want get away from here before I lose myself." Ash said as he tries to calm down. His eyes were returning to normal. "Ash, don't listen to Eddie's lies. You and he aren't the same entity. He's nothing more than a mistake given form through the town. You are the guardian. You are meant to be. You are real, he's not." She said. Ash roars in pain and shakes the land. The woman falls to her knees and is forced to look down. Once he was done, she looks up at the boy. His body now bigger and more muscular, and he looked a lot more like the paintings of the guardian. He soon glares at the woman in rage. "REAL? YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT'S REAL! I AM NOT A MISTAKE! I AM NOT YOU'RE TOY TO PLAY WITH! I AM EDWARD HYDE AND YOU WILL LOVE ME! YOU WILL ALL LOVE ME!" Ash yelled. He soon laughs in joy. The woman sighs. "I guess talking to you was futile. You feel nothing but rage. You are nothing but a shadow." The woman said. Ash clutches his fists and growls. He picks up the woman with one hand. He lifted his other hand to punch her. "I AM REAL! I DESERVE TO EXIST! I AM NOT A SHADOW! HE DOESN'T DESERVE IT! HE SHOULD JUST DISAPPEAR!" Ash roared. Suddenly he felt something grab his chest. Ash drops the woman and holds his chest. 'Wh-what the? What's going on? Ugh! The pain!' Ash thought, his thoughts being back to his normal voice. Ash grunts in pain as he resists whatever was happening to him. Suddenly a large green busted out of his chest. Soon it and the boy fell to the ground. The winds soon disappeared and Gardevoir appeared from behind the boy. The woman like creature soon lifted up the crystal with its mind. It was made clear that it was doing that since a blue aura around the object and its eyes glowing blue. The woman stands up and walks to her friend. "Thanks Gardevoir. Though, I wish I could've convinced the boy to give me the crystal on his own, but he was still in denial with himself. He actually thinks he's Edward. Gosh, I know Edward is a reincarnation of him and is currently his manifestation, but I would have never guessed that personality would be so strong. I hope Ash's personality won't be as potent. The guardian can't be weakened by a silly boy." The woman said. Gardevoir nodded.

The woman and Pokémon soon looked at the crystal. Oddly one half was smooth like a sphere, while the other half was spikey and uneven. The crystal itself was oddly shaped and didn't look like any crystal they saw before. The woman scanned the crystal. After a while, the woman smiled. "So…this is the guardian's soul. One is the boy's while the other is the remains of Edward's. Both have seen better days. I'm surprised that the two aren't whole since they are one and the same, but then again they seem to disagree on many things. The boy needs to recover from Eddie's madness so I say we put it in the manifest's body. It may hurt for him, but at least this way he won't go insane and I can convince Perlis to not notice the boy until he's ready. I still don't trust the man." The woman said. Gardevoir nodded. Gardevoir soon grunted as she tried to break the soul, however, it wouldn't budge no matter how much force she put on it. "What the hell is GOING ON!?" A loud male voice yelled, surprising the two girls. They looked around. How in the world can Ash's mind still be active like that if they have Ash's soul? "Wh-who's there?" The woman asked. Suddenly out of the darkness, a red door appeared. The door burst opened, and a man who looked oddly similar to Ash appeared. His skin was thankfully still human, but his aura was black and blue, his eyes were pitch-black and his hair was as wild as Ash's. The man looks at the two. "I am the king of Pokelantis. Who are you? ...What did you do to the boy? And what's that odd looking rock you have?" The king asked as he looked at the unconscious boy and then the green crystal. The woman blinked. "Th-the king of Pokelantis? I've heard quite a number of legends about you…but how are you in the guardian?" The woman asked, confused. The king smiled. "I do not need to answer to a witch like you. However, YOU need to answer MY questions." The king yelled. The woman smirked. "We were just getting rid of Edward from the guardian. He is an anomaly who isn't supposed to be real. If you could help us, we would help you get your own body." The woman said. Satoshi growled. "Do not try to fool me. You don't care about me. You only care about this 'guardian' you people talk about. Whatever he is, I know it's awaken won't be good for the boy nor me so leave boy's soul alone. And if you don't, you silly little town will be destroy. I can feel it in my soul." Satoshi threatened.

The woman smiled. "Monstrous king, you do not dictate what we can and can't do. The guardian needs to be saved from this madness and the only way to do that is to get rid of the beast that lays inside. I don't know why you would think us doing this will doom the town, but it will not. This…creature does not nor will ever have the power to harm this town. Now leave the guardian's body!" The woman yelled. The king growled as he pulls out a large sword. "Fine, if you won't listen to reason, then you will parish for your stupidity." The man said, then rushed towards the two women. He raises the sword up and swung low towards the woman. Gardevoir moves the crystal right in the way and the sword cuts the crystal into two. Ash screams in pain as Satoshi's sword disappears. Satoshi falls to his knees and clutches his heart. It felt like his own soul was split into two. The woman smirks. "Thanks for helping us, Pokelantis. Oh, and don't worry about Ash, he won't be hurt anymore, he'll just be awakened to his true form. And based off your own aura, I can see the real you and my…he sure is an 'angel'. I'm surprised that the guardian's gentler side has chosen you to be its host, but we should go and put this back into the puppet." The woman said. Gardevoir soon put the smoother side of the crystal onto Ash's now bleeding body, and then she and the woman disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Satoshi coughs and closes his eyes. Once the smoke cleared, Satoshi looked at Ash. The crystal was now a green beetle like creature that was now digging into the spot where the crystal was first pulled out. Satoshi grunts as he falls completely to the ground. His mind was beginning to blur. 'Th-the real me? Wh-what did that witch mean? Wh-what did I do to Ash's soul? Did…did I really split it in half? Ugh…my head.' Satoshi thought. He soon heard Ash roaring in pain. Satoshi sighed as the world began to glow white. 'Oh dear Arceus, please…help us all. I fear the nightmare is only beginning.' Satoshi thought before everything faded into white.

 **What's going to happen to Ash? Well find out in the next chapter...yeah. This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I felt it was dragging on a bit, so I shortened it. I hope you don't mind since the next part will come up soon. Anyways, Bye.**


	9. Chapter 8

ch. 8

 **Hey, it's Aura. Sorry about the long delay. College is a pain. Well, onto the next chapter.**

Misty sighed as she looked at Ash. Only a few minutes had pasted since the woman had started 'scanning' the boy, however, Perlis was getting impatient. "What's taking so long? It shouldn't be too hard to confirm that the boy is Edward." Perlis mumbled loud enough for Misty to hear. Tobias just sighed. Misty and Pikachu, however, still didn't believe that Ash and Eddie were the same person. 'I just hope the woman find something to prove them wrong. I…I don't know what I'll do if it turns out Ash and Eddie were the same person.' Misty thought, worried about her friend. Suddenly the door she and Ash came through busted open. Misty turned around and saw that that the local Officer Jenny of the town. She noticed the situation and blushed. "O-oh, Mr. Perlis, you're okay. I thought that boy had harmed you since he could knock out my fellow officers so easily. But thankfully, it looks like everything is under control," Jenny said as she walked over to Mr. Perlis. Perlis smiled. "Yes, but it's only under control because Miss Rose used her Gardevoir to stop the boy. I would have had my Mr. Mime do it for her, but Rose was a lot quicker at pulling out her Pokeball than me." Mr. Perlis said. Officer Jenny nodded then look at the boy. She couldn't believe he could take out her men so easily. "I'm just glad I didn't interrupt whatever Miss Rose is doing." Officer Jenny said. Perlis nodded. Suddenly Ash screamed in pain as a green mist exists his mouth, surprising everyone. The mist soon formed into a ball and was grabbed by Gardevoir's psychic attack. Ash groaned in pain once the green mist was out of him. Suddenly the aura around Ash disappeared and he fell to the ground. Misty imminently picked him up and checked him. So far he seemed alright and his body was returning to its normal self, however, Misty was still scared. 'What is that mist? Was that the thing that made Ash go all animalistic?' She asked herself. 'Miss Rose' looked at the ball of mist and smiled. "Aha, I've found and extracted the problem. Now this boy won't be troubled by the guardian anymore." Miss Rose said, causing everyone to look at her in confusion.

Mr. Perlis walked up to her. "What are you talking about, Miss Rose? Isn't the child the guardian? He is the real Edward Hyde so how can he not be the guardian?" He asked. The woman looked at him with a warm smile. "Ah, but you are mistaken, Mr. Perlis. The boy isn't Edward. It turns out Edward Hyde was hiding just inside of the boy, so he could avoid us. It attacked its manifestation because Ash was controlling it to do so. If the guardian was in control, that wouldn't have happen. We were all fooled into believing that the guardian had to take a host form, but it doesn't. Not as long as it has its power. However, for some reason, it stayed in his body, which is why we thought this boy was the guardian." The woman said. Misty blinked. "Wait…so Ash isn't the guardian? But Tobias you said that he was! What's the deal with that?!" Misty yelled in rage. Tobias bowed. "I'm sorry for that false acclimation. I was told by Miss Rose about Ash and she was the one who figured out he was the guardian, so I had no idea if she was right or not. We could have never predicted that Edward was his own entity who was hiding in Ash. Then again Edward still isn't a human, so it's hard to say if he even counts as his own being. However, I'm still a bit perplex, Miss Rose. If Edward is truly the guardian, then why was he in the boy in the first place, other than to distract us? And why did he attacked the villagers and tourists like that? I thought the guardian protected this land." Tobias asked. The woman sighed. "I do not know why the guardian was in Ash to begin with, but now that he's freed, it does not matter. As for why the guardian was attacking us in the first place, well, I can answer that. From what Mr. Danvers and Bishop Hudson told me, it's because there's a traitor in this town who's making the guardian go insane. This person dares to take this town's power and use it for themselves. We need to act swiftly so we can defeat them. The guardian will never be happy until we do." Miss Rose said. Mr. Perlis nodded. "Yes, and I have an idea of who it might be, but since I have no proof right now, we can talk about it later. Firstly we need to help this poor boy. After all, he was never meant to have such a powerful spirit in him." Mr. Perlis said. Tobias nodded.

Officer Jenny looked at the boy. "So…does that mean the guardian was the one who attacked my men and almost attack you, Perlis?" Jenny asked. Perlis nodded. "Yes. And since the boy was obviously not in control at the moment that means all his charges are dropped. He will be free to leave once he wakes up." Perlis said. Jenny sighed. She wanted to put the boy in jail for hurting her fellow officers, but she couldn't because of this clause. "Fine. But once he wakes up, I'll warn him just so he doesn't think he can do whatever he wants now." Jenny said. The group of people nodded. Suddenly Ash groaned as his eyes opened up. He got up slowly as he held his head and he looked around. "Ugh…my head. Wh-what happened?" Ash asked. Everything was blurry for him at the moment. Misty smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, you may not believe it, but it turns out Eddie was actually inside of you controlling you. He was the one who called me names and was the one who made you freak out like that, so you won't be going to jail." Misty said. Ash thought about what she said and then noticed the floating green mist ball. He gulped. "What's that?" Ash asked. It looked like the green jewel from his dreams. "This is Edward Hyde, the guardian of the town. He was hiding inside of you for I don't know how many years, but now he's free, and he will return to his normal form as Xuchilbara. I'm sorry for getting you in this mess, but it couldn't be avoided since he was inside of you." Miss Rose said. Ash froze in fear at this news. He moves his hands to his chest as the news sunk in. He remembered what Luc told him and it slightly claimed him. 'Y-yeah. L-Luc told me that Eddie wasn't actually a part of me, so…so why am I feeling so weird?' Ash asked himself. Despite Edward being gone, he still didn't feel like his normal self. He still felt like he was in that weird animal form he and Edward were in when they were together. Ash looked at Perlis and growled, but he didn't know why. Miss Rose smirked. "I see Edward's influence over you is still in effect. Don't worry, it should wear off soon." She said. Ash inwardly hoped that since he didn't like acting like this.

Pikachu soon climbed onto his partner's shoulder which made Ash stop focusing on Perlis, and focused on his friend instead. He soon remembered what he did in that bestial form and was horrified. "Pikachu, I'm so sorry. I…I didn't mean to hurt you like that…but…but everything is fine now…Eddie won't hurt us anymore. He's locked up, and…and won't escape…right?" Ash asked the adults. They all agreed, which calmed Ash's nerves. He looked at Misty, but suddenly another woman replaced her. She looked fairly tall, had long, black, curly hair; had soft brown eyes, red lips, wore a short red military jacket that was open, a black bikini under it, fish net stockings, and black high heels. Ash drool as he looked at the woman. He didn't know why, but she looked beautiful. The only time he could remember feeling this way was when he saw a picture of the school president from the school for hard knocks. "Um…Edward, is something wrong? You're drooling." The woman said in a British accent. Ash soon held his head as he felt it becoming cloudier. He could feel the animal side of him clawing inside of him. He wanted to scream. He wanted to attack her. To make her his. Ash began to breathe heavily. "ASH!" Misty voice yelled out, which snapped Ash back to reality. He soon noticed he was on top of her, which made him blush and get off of her. He stood up and brush dust off his clothes. He looked at Misty and then away in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, Misty. E-Edward's influence over me is much stronger than I expected." Ash said. Perlis narrowed his eyes. "Yeah…a bit too strong I'd say. If Edward truly is all in that mist like you say, Rose, then the boy shouldn't be acting like a beast. He should be at least acting like a child, which obviously a child would never do." Perlis said. Miss Rose turned to the Politian and smiled. "Don't worry, Mr. Perlis, the boy is fine. The influence is only strong because it has only been a few minutes since the boy and Edward have been separated. After a few hours, he'll be back to his normal self." The woman said. Ash sighed in relief.

He then looked at Misty and looked down. "H-Hey Misty. I was just wondering, d-do…do you think Edward is still inside of me?" Ash whispered. Misty looked at the boy in confusion. "What? No. Why do you ask?" She asked back. Ash sighed. "I…I don't know. I'm…I'm just being paranoid that's all." Ash said. However, it didn't ease Misty's confusion. Ash coughed as he looked at the adults. "Could someone please tell me what happened? The last thing I remember was when I entered the police station. Everything became a blur afterwards." Ash said. Miss Rose smiled. "Don't worry, I'll explain everything." She said. Soon the next few minutes were of her explaining what she told to Misty and the others. After the woman finished up her speech, Officer Jenny warned Ash to that if he attacked anyone again, he would be sent to jail. Ash nodded, and this caused Rose to tell her Gardevoir to put Edward's soul back into its 'body', which confused Ash. "Um…miss…" Ash began to say, but stopped since he didn't know her name. She smiled. "Miss Rose Gillespie." She said. Ash nodded, but he didn't like the name. "Um… yeah, Miss Gillespie, how could Hyde have a 'body' in the first place if he was in me? Shouldn't he just possessed me if he really wanted to draw out by this 'traitor' in the church? And why did he forget who he was and pretended to be a mayoral candidate in the first place? That part didn't have to do with anything." Ash asked. Miss Gillespie sighed. "Well, that fake 'body' is called a Manifestation. Usually the guardian create these Manifestations in his world to make the people trapped in it to either die or repent for their sins, however his power is greatly diminished because of you, so only one manifestation can be created right now. As for why he made 'Eddie', well, we're not sure. We know he wanted to hide from the traitor, but we're not sure why Edward manifested himself. But dear boy, since the spirit was inside of you for who knows how long, could you tell us more about him? Maybe you can clear up some of our questions." Rose asked. Ash soon became flustered which Misty hardly ever saw on the boy, and he soon looked away while sheepishly smiling. "O-oh, I really don't know. I've only seen him in my dreams, and during that time, he was just a mindless animal. I'm just glad he's not a part of me anymore. However, I don't know anything other than that." Ash said. Miss Gillespie sighed and looked down in disappointment. Ash sighed in relief. He was glad things were finally returning to normal.

However, he still remembered what Edward said and that strange dream with Satoshi he had. 'W-was Eddie right? Is he really me?' Ash asked himself. He soon shocked his head. 'N-no, I'm being paranoid. I'm just scared. I'll soon be feeling better and then I'll win the tournament.' Ash told himself. _'Ash, maybe I should take over while you recover. It would be less stressful_ _._ _'_ Satoshi said in an oddly compassionate voice. Ash soon became angry. 'What, of course not! I can take care of myself! I don't need you messing things up!' Ash scoffed at Satoshi. The boy soon saw red mist surround him. Thankfully only he could see it. ' _Ash, something's bothering you, so please tell me.'_ Satoshi said as 'his' face appeared out of the smoke. Ash sighed and looked down. 'I…I feel like there's something missing. It was here just a few moments ago, but now it's gone…Is…is it Edward's soul that's missing?…Is…is he really me?' Ash said as he held himself, confusing Misty and the others. Satoshi chuckled. _'Don't worry, Ash. You're fine. Nothing's missing. Eddie is just a monster, just like Luc said. You don't need to be afraid.'_ Pokelantis said. Ash sighed. 'I...I just hope you're right.' Ash thought as the smoke began to enwrap him. _'Aren't I always, Edward...aren't I?'_ Pokelantis said. Ash soon began to cough. Ash looked at the smoke as it became darker. Ash soon realized that the king was taking over. Ash resisted the man's attack, however, before he could do anything, he was consumed in darkness. Ash fell to his knees as he screamed in pain. Ash grunted as he lost control of himself. Misty rushed over to Ash. "Ash...ASH!" Misty soon began to shake her friend's shoulder. Suddenly 'Ash' began to chuckle as he stood up. His eyes were now pitch black. Misty became scared. "A-ash, are you okay?" Rose asked. 'Ash' smiled, however it felt a lot hollower than normal. "I'm fine, Miss Rose, don't worry. I was just fighting against those bestial feelings Edward released, that's all. Besides, if he was still inside of me, then it would technically be YOUR fault that he was. After all, you went into my mind in order to get rid of him. If you had failed, then that means what you said was a lie. And you don't want us to think of you as a liar, do we?" 'Ash' asked, however it was something Ash would never say. It was too swav. Too coordinated. Too…fancy for this to be Ash. And Misty and Pikachu knew it. However, they knew it couldn't be Edward either. Despite his speech at the ferrites wheel, he was clearly not as swav as this. 'But, then what happened to Ash? Not that long ago he was acting like an animal, and while this is much better, it's still confusing and a bit scary.' Misty asked herself as Miss Gillespie sigh. "Y-you're right. I was just being paranoid. Now you'd better get going. Your friends are probably worried." She said. Satoshi nodded. "You are correct. Misty and I left on very bad terms, so we'll have to meet them to clear things up." Satoshi said. Misty and Pikachu nodded in agreement. Misty sighed and grabbed Satoshi's hoodie. "Come on, duefus, we'd better get going." Misty said. Satoshi nodded. Misty soon reached the door and opened it. She then looked back at the adults. "Goodbye, and I hope you can find a way to keep Edward in check." Misty said. The adults nodded and said goodbye. Satoshi waved back. "Good-bye." He said, and then the two left the room. Misty quickly tossed the boy into the hallway, which caused Satoshi to grunt in pain as he hit the ground. She then shut the door behind them and glared at 'Ash'.

"Okay, Ash, what's going on with you this time?" Misty angrily asked. Satoshi grunted as he got up. He then confusingly looked at Misty. "What are you talking about Misty? I'm acting totally normal." Satoshi said in confusion. Misty growled. "No, you're, not! You're acting too nice…too gentle to be normal Ash, so tell me what's going on!? Is this another side effect of Eddie or what?" Misty asked in an angry manner. Satoshi sighed. "Misty, why are you mad? Don't you want me to be nice?" Satoshi asked. Misty paused then looked down. "Well…yes…but…you're still not you. I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're just not you." Misty said. Pikachu agreed. Satoshi sighed. It seemed like he would have to tell them the truth. Suddenly an idea came to Satoshi. Satoshi smiled. "Well, I think I know why I'm acting this way. It's just like you said, it's a side effect of Edward's powers. However instead of making me act like an animal, it has done the opposite. It has released the pure goodness in my heart and for a brief period, I'm a lot nicer than my normal self. After all, Xuchilbara is a punisher. So it's very logical for its power to show the good side as well as the bad. It won't be permeate, but at least I'm a lot nicer now." Satoshi said. This calmed Misty's and Pikachu's nerves, however Ash was still angry. **'Yeah right! You're just lying so they won't find out you're the king of Pokelantis! You're just as bad as me and Edward, don't deny that! And how dare you call me Hyde! I'm nothing like that monster! I'm only angry because YOU provoked me! Now give me back my body!'** Ash yelled in Satoshi's mind. Satoshi groaned in annoyance. 'No Ash, I won't right now. Your rage is too dangerous and you could hurt someone.' Satoshi told Ash. Suddenly Satoshi could feel claws dig into the sides of his arms. **'The only one I want to hurt is YOU! NOW GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!'** Ash roared. Satoshi screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Pikachu could feel a dangerous aura trying to take over Satoshi and knew it had to be the animal side. Pikachu couldn't let it hurt Misty again, so it let out a powerful thunderbolt. Ash and Satoshi screamed in pain. The boy feel to the ground, twitching in pain. Misty rushed over to her friend. "Ash, Ash! Are you okay?!" Misty asked. Ash groaned in pain as he regained consciousness. Ash sat up and held his head. Ash shock the electricity off and noticed he was back in control. Ash sighed in relief. He looked at Misty and smiled. "Y-yeah." He said, then petted Pikachu, "Thanks Pikachu for stopping me before I could do anything bad." Pikachu 'cha'ed in responded. Ash smiled. "But…why were you in pain in the first place? Was that animal trying to take over again?" Misty asked. Ash looked down. He couldn't feel any different between 'the animal' and his normal self, so her calling him that felt very wrong to him. "Y-yeah. B-but now I'm back to normal for a while. Hopefully these mood swings will end soon." Ash said. Misty nodded. Soon Ash got up and the two exited out of the Police station.

Once outside, Ash chuckled as he scratched the rodent's chin. He was starting to feel a lot better. As Ash and Misty walk back to the Pokémon Center, Ash couldn't help but be confused. Just what was going on with himself? WAS HE ACTUALLY EDWARD? Was 'Edward's' soul really just a part of his? Did that mean he was still the guardian? That thought made Ash shiver in fear. He didn't like the idea that he was a monster. 'But…if Eddie and I are the same person, why is he such a jerk? And when we were together, why was I more like him instead of me just being me?' Ash thought then sighed. He wished he knew just what was going on with his body. He soon thought back to Eddie and the pain that caused him to rush over to the place. Ash sighed. 'Don't worry about it. Edward will be fine. Whatever caused that pain has stopped. After the tournament is over, we'll get away from this weird place and never look back.' Ash thought. He was starting to dislike Yoka Village. Despite the happy smiles, he could sense something rotten was going on. But he didn't know what it was, nor what he could do to stop it. He also didn't like Perlis, but at least Mr. Danvers was still running for mayor so there was a good chance that Perlis could lose. Misty looked at Ash in confusion. "Hey Ash, what's with the silent act? I'd thought you would be a little more talkative." Misty asked. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Misty. "Oh. Well, I was just …um…thinking of strategies I could use in the tournament. That's all." Ash lied, however Misty didn't believe him. She nudged him. "Come on Ash, tell me the truth. I know something's bothering you, so spill it." Misty said. Ash sighed. He wished he was a better liar. "Okay, you've got me…I…I know this may sound weird, but…something's wrong with this town. I don't know what it is, but something's defiantly off about the town." Ash said. Misty raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because other than Edward and the weird nightmares we've been having about him, there doesn't seem to be any wrong about the town. Maybe you should go sit down and go relax. These past few days must've gotten you riled up." Misty said. Ash sighed. "Maybe your right. It does feel like forever since I've relaxed…You know what. Once we're back at the Pokémon Center, I'm going to have a bath!" Ash said as he became happy again. Misty nodded. "Me too." She agreed. Ash smiled.

Suddenly they heard someone yell out, "ASH! MISTY! PIKACHU!" The two kids turn towards the sound and see Tracy, Cilan and Iris running up to them. Ash and Misty smiled and waved. "Hey guys!" Ash yelled. After a few seconds, the rest of the gang stopped a few feet in front of Ash and Misty, panting and sweating like mad. Iris was the first to recover and angrily looks at Ash. "WHAT THE FRUITCAKE IS GOING ON WITH YOU, ASH?! FIRST YOU YELL AT MISTY AND CALL HER MEAN NAMES, AND NEXT YOUR RUNNING OFF LIKE AN ANIMAL! Only NOW have we finally caught up with you and Misty! And why is Misty even here with you after what you said!?" Iris yelled at Ash making Ash feel really guilty. Misty stepped forward. "Iris, calm down, let us explain." Misty said. Soon she and Ash told the gang about Edward and what he did to Ash. The gang was shocked by these revelations, and once they were done, Iris looked down. "Well, I guess we were right about Ash being possessed. Although, we would've never guessed that he had been hiding in Ash even before these events happened, which explains how Ash couldn't recognize he was being possessed." Iris said. Ash nodded. Cilan soon thought about something. "But…how long has Edward being living inside of you and why did he enter your body in the first place, Ash?" Cilan asked. Ash sighed. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. I kind of remember him entering my body when I was very young, but I have no idea why he did it or exactly when it happened. All I do know is that he acted like a wild Pokémon whenever I was around." Ash confessed. His friends sighed. "Well, at least now he's gone." Tracy said. The others agreed, however, Ash oddly felt hesitant to agreeing. "We should return to the Pokémon center now. Ash and I wanted to take a bath before we start our training." Misty said. The gang nodded and walked back to the Pokémon center.

Once there, Misty and Ash went to the bathrooms near their dorm rooms and went into separate baths. Ash sigh as he got out of his clothes. He was glad he was finally free from the madness of Edward, although he had wished he had put on his hat earlier. For some odd reason, he kept forgetting to put on his hat. Once in his underwear, he put his clothes in a basket and then walked to the bathtub. However, when he reached it, a shock of electricity coursed through his veins. Ash fell to his knees and screamed in pain. Pikachu was scared by his master's sudden pain. "NO! NOT AGAIN! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Ash yelled, and after a few seconds, the pain disappeared. Ash panted in pain as he recovered. "Wh-what the hell!? Wh-what just happened?" Ash asked, however, Pikachu had no idea what just happened. Ash groaned as he sat down. "Dear Arceus, what's going on with me?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded in fear. Ash sighed and grabbed the soap. 'I hope this doesn't become a recurring thing.' He thought as he began to wash himself.

(Back at the Jail)

Edward groaned as he woke up. He looked around and noticed he was in his fake body in jail. Edward sat up in shock. 'SHIT! I'm in prison! This is not good. Not good at all.' Hyde thought as he got up. Hyde soon took a deep breath. 'No, getting into a panic won't solve your problems. Remember, this isn't your real body. Just delete this manifestation and go back to being Ash. Then I'll forget all about this stupid little town and all the weirdness I've been put through. Oh…but I really wanted to be Edward Hyde again. It's been ages since I've last felt like this and I don't want to revert back to being a stupid, nice kid.' Hyde thought then sighed. 'But…I must…otherwise Jekyll will take over and steal everything I have.' Hyde closed his eyes and let go of himself. However, after a few seconds, his body fell to its side, causing Hyde to wake up and see he was still in jail. "FUCK!" Hyde yelled as he sat up. He walked to the bars and grabbed them, however, he soon noticed two guards with two Manectrics by their sides. Edward lets go of the bars in fear. Edward soon sat back down in anger. He couldn't believe these clowns caught him. He had been in jail a few times before, but every time he kicked himself for it. 'I'm the Spirit of London at Night, and yet I can be contained in such a dinky little cell! Ugh, when I return to my body, Jekyll's going laugh at me.' Hyde thought, 'But… **how** come I can't escape this body now? I was able to do it before. That's how Ash and I rejoined. And why didn't this body disappear when Ash and I rejoined? And how come my personality mixed with Ash's instead of me just becoming Ash?' Edward ruffles up his hair in rage as the questions build up. He looked around, looking for something that could be holding him in this prison, but there was nothing on the walls or floor. Hyde looked at his body, however, the only thing on him was a collar around his neck. Hyde smirked. 'AHA! So this collar is the reason I'm still here! Hopefully this collar doesn't have…' Edward thought as he grabbed the collar. However, when he pulled on it, a shock of electricity coursed through his body. Edward screamed in pain, causing him to let go of the collar. After a few seconds, the pain stopped. Hyde panted in pain as he recovered from the attack. He soon growled. "Stupid booby-trap." Hyde muttered under his breathe. The guards chuckled at Edward's pain, which caused Edward to sit up and growl in rage. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY!? DO YOU THINK ME BEING ELECTRICUTED IS FUNNY!? WELL IT'S NOT! I SWEAR, WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I'LL MAKE YOU ALL PAY!" Edward roared at the men, but they just snickered in response. Hyde growled as his rage became dangerously high.

Suddenly the guards noticed something and were shocked to see it. "M-Miss Gillespie, wh-what brings you back here? Is something wrong?" Guard one asked. Suddenly Miss Gillespie came into view of Hyde with a smile on her face. "No. Nothing is wrong, I just want to talk to the guardian in private. It deals with the traitor, and I don't want you two to be around just in case one of you is the traitor." She said. Guard two stands up. "But Miss Gillespie, this man is dangerous! Are you sure you don't want us around?!" The guard asked in confusion. The woman nodded, causing the guards to sigh and leave. After a few moments, Hyde could hear a door shut as Rose turned towards him. She smiled and took off her veil. Hyde was awestruck by the woman's beauty, but what struck him the most was the fact that she looked a lot like an older Dawn with purple eyes. "So you're Edward Hyde. It's an honor to meet you properly. I am Rose Gillespie, a priestess of Valtiel section of our religion. I was surprised to learn that a monster like you was a part of Xuchilbara/Valtiel, but it doesn't matter, soon you and that boy will become the great executioner once more." The woman said. Hyde snapped back to reality due to the woman's crazy talk and growled at her as he remembered she separated him from Ash. "How do you guys even know of me?" Hyde asked. Miss Gillespie walked up to the cell. "Well, I was the one how accidently activate you. Ash was so scared of becoming the guardian that he made you as a way to try and escape his fate, however, he and I did not expect that a real person would be relived through this method. When I first heard of your name, I had Mr. Danvers search for a similar name, and we found out about a man name Henry Jekyll who had an assistant name Edward Hyde. After some research, Danvers and I connected the dots and figured out that Edward Jackal was actually the deceased spirit of Edward Hyde, and that this man was actually a part of Xuchilbara. Of course, that doesn't matter now. You and Ash will disappear once Xuchilbara regains his powers." Miss Rose said. Edward was shocked to hear this. 'I…I was alive in this world before I became Ash? But…but why don't I remember that? I always remember my adventures as Hyde…even... the parts I don't want to remember…but…but how could I NOT REMEMBER THIS ONE!? When I first merged with Ash, did that memory get lost? Ugh! My head!' Hyde thought as his head began to become heavy.

Hyde was a little glad he now knew how these people knew about him, but there were so many more questions in his head now for him to be happy. The woman was surprised by the man's confusion and pain. "What? Do you not remember this past life?" She asked. Hyde looked up and nodded. The woman was shocked to hear this. "That's odd. I guess Xuchilbara's power made you forgotten all the terrible things you've done. Well don't worry, I'll explain what I know about." She said. Hyde rushed towards the woman and grabbed her by the neck. "Oh no you don't! I know who I am! I know I'm a monster! You don't need to yak on about how terrible I am! Now, if you don't want me to choke you to death, you will answer me." Hyde said. The woman nodded as best as she could. Hyde smiled and let go. The woman gasped for air. "Okay, Miss Rose, tell me this. What are you did to Ash and I? I know you want us to be 'Xuchilbara', but I want a little bit more detail." Hyde asked. The woman smirked. "First we marked you with the Halo of the Sun, indicating that your mind was ready to start changing, however your mind wasn't ready and thus created you. Once everything is in place, we'll take you to the secret church and infuse you with the powers of a demon to vanquish all your foes. Then we'll fuse you back into Ash and finally mark you physically with the Halo of the Sun. This will emaciate your physical transformation into Xuchilbara, and you will find Alessa and make her give birth to god. Soon everyone will be free from the pain and paradise will be upon us!" Rose yelled out in happiness. Hyde was shocked by this news and then growled. "It's not going to work! I won't become your puppet! I am the spirit of London at night! I am the caged beast in all of people's heart! I cannot be held down by your stupid Apocalypse Cult!" Hyde yelled. Suddenly the woman pulled out a remote and pressed a button. Suddenly electricity coursed through his body, causing Edward to scream in pain. "No Edward, you are nothing but a spineless human with the soul of a god. That god will consume you and that pitiful boy, and paradise will finally be achieved. Now tell me who the traitor is! And don't say you don't know! Gardevoir told me all about it from you mind!" She said, then let go of the button. After a few seconds, the pain stopped. Hyde laid on his bed and breathed heavily. Hyde sat up after a few seconds, but when he looked at Rose, he felt fear coursed through his body. The man wasn't used to fear and was fighting against it. He was Edward Hyde, an inhuman killing machine that wasn't afraid of being who he was…and yet here he was, shivering in fear. Hyde clutched his fists as his anger tried to push away his fear, however it wasn't working.

Edward opened his mouth, wanting to tell the woman the truth. The woman smirked, however, Hyde soon sat up. "N-no! I am not a puppet! I…I WILL NOT BOW!" Hyde yelled. The woman frowned. Suddenly the door opened, causing Rose to turn to it. "Miss Rose, I see that you and Edward have been communicating with each other, and base off the screams I heard, you had to use my device." Perlis said. Rose blushed. "Well, y-yes, Mr. Perlis. Mr. Hyde was disagreeing with the Order and saw us as a 'cult'. He thinks he's a 'spirit of the night' and is more than a just piece of Xuchilbara. I was just putting him in his place." Miss Rose said. Perlis nodded as he walked up to her. "Yes. And I think he and I should be training for his eventual ceremony. He'll need all the will power he needs in order to resist the urge to use the demon's powers against us." Perlis said. The woman smiled. "Of…Of course. Especially since Edward won't tell me who the traitor is." She said as she gave the man the device. Perlis smiled. "Don't worry, I'll get the traitor, just you wait." Perlis said. Rose smiled and walked off. After a while, the door closed, signifying the woman was gone. Perlis turned to Edward. Perlis snickered. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my dear pet, Edward. I knew I would eventually have you. Unfortunately I have checked your body and I cannot gain your powers, however…" Perlis said, the pressed another button. Suddenly pain coursed through Edward's body, causing him to scream in pain. "I can still use you like a Pokémon. Oh, and what a powerful Pokémon you are, Eddie. I can imagine it all now. You destroying villages with your monsters and fire. You using Oblivion beam to turn our enemies into stone. Oh, how wonderful it will be. And of course, all these monsters will be of my design. I'm just glad you and the Empress both have the power to create creatures from your own or other's imaginations. It means that I don't have to worry about chasing after her. It's a shame that you don't have your own body, Edward. I would've really liked having your powers." Perlis said over Edward's screams. Edward stopped screaming and angrily looked at Perlis. "Y-you're g-going to p-pay, Perlis…You and R-Rose have d-doomed this whole t-town." Hyde spouted out. Perlis chuckled. "So you say. But enough talk, you have a mission to do. Hehehehe. And I have just the right outfit for you, we just need to go to the Butcher's shop first." Perlis said, then pressed another button. Hyde screamed in agony, before falling unconscious. After a few seconds, Hyde woke up, but his eyes were pure green with no light in them. "Come Hyde." Perlis ordered. Hyde got up and ape-ishly walked over to Perlis. Perlis smiled. "Sit." Perlis ordered. Hyde soon sat down. Perlis smiled. He then checked his clock. It was nearing night fall. He soon pulled out some keys and unlocked the door. "Come Hyde, follow me, and we shall be the greatest duo ever." Perlis said. Hyde just walked over to him. Perlis pet Hyde's fluffy hair and smiled. He then pulled out a phone and dialed up a number. After a few rings, someone picked up the other end. "Hey, it's me, Perlis. I've got Hyde….Yes, everything is going as plan, and soon everything will be mine. I'll be heading to the Butcher's place to get Hyde the appropriate clothing and weapon. You go out and make sure Markham stays in his house. Tonight at Midnight we'll attack…Okay, bye." Perlis said, then shut off the phone. Perlis soon evilly laughed.

(Back with Ash.)

Ash was now in the bathtub with warm water, but his head was now aching in pain. Ash sighed as he continued to wash himself. After sometime, he finished up cleaning and Pikachu, and they got out of the shower. However, just as he got out, another blast of electricity coursed through Ash's body. Ash screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Pikachu was horrified as another attack hit Ash for no real reason. After a long while, the pain disappeared. Ash panted in fear as he sat up and held himself. He got up and grabbed a towel and dried off. "It's…It's just a s-s-side-effect of Edward being in me…Th-that's all. I'm…I'm fine…I'm fine…" Ash said, fear dripping from his words. Pikachu nuzzles against Ash's check. Ash notices it and slightly relax. "Th-thanks, Pikachu. You always know how to make me feel better." Ash said as he petted Pikachu. Pikachu smiled. Once dry, Ash grabbed the basket and put on his clothes. Ash walked out of the bathroom, with Misty and the others waiting for him. But as soon as he was out of the bathroom, he was hit by another attack. Ash screamed in agony as he feel to his knees. The pain was even worse than before. And yet…oddly it felt like the same feeling that caused him to run towards the police station. Ash's friends were all spooked by Ash's cries. Misty reached towards him, but Ash soon slapped her hand away in fear. "Ash, w-what's going on with you?" Iris asked in fear. Ash looked up to her with tears in his eyes. "I-I don't k-know? It….It hurts too much to think! I…I…" Ash said, then roared like an animal. His eyes soon turned blood red and venomous. Suddenly a wicked smiled grew on his face. Ash licked his lips as he got up. He grabbed Misty by the waste. Ash purred as he looked into Misty's eyes. Misty was horrified as she saw a monster in the place of her friend.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled in Ash's ear. Ash noticed the mouse and tossed him off. Tracy catches the mouse and the gang angrily looked at Ash. "Ash, ignore this bestial side Edward has unleashed. It isn't you." Cilan said. Ash snarls at him. Iris frowns. "Ash, please. Listen to your friends! We know you're in there!" Iris yelled. Ash snickers at them as he lets go of Misty. He walked up to Iris, his lustful eyes examining her. Cilan used this chance to run into the group's room and come out with Ash's Cubone doll. "Remember this? You really wanted it. You said it represented the want for your father. Maybe this will snap you out of this." Cilan said. Ash turned to the Cilan and walked up to the toy. Cilan smiled as he gave Ash the toy. Ash grabbed it and looked into its beady eyes. **'Look at you. You're a monster. Nobody really likes you. Look at them, they're terrified. They see the REAL you, and they don't want that. They want the stupid boy who only cares about Pokémon. They hate the real you. They hate Edward.'** Ash's self-doubt told him. Ash clutched his head with one hand. 'I-I'm not Eddie…' Ash told himself. It laughed at him. **'Aren't you? Look at what you've done. The killings, the anger, the hatred. It's all you. There isn't some monster you can blame for these. That's why you became Eddie when the collar was removed. Because he IS you. Don't deny it. Don't hide it. You're only damaging yourself. You're becoming the coward everyone thinks you are.'** The voice said, stepping on Ash's nerves. Ash growled. 'What did you say?!' Ash yelled inwardly. **'You're a coward, plan and simple. You're letting your "friends" drag you down, making you WEAK!'** It said. Ash roars in rage as he destroys the doll. He then glared at Cilan. Cilan was terrified. Ash laughs as he walked closer to the boy. Ash soon grabbed Cilan's throat. Ash growled as a dark aura surrounded his body. "Ash! Please, don't hurt Cilan!" Misty yelled out. Ash turned to her. He soon noticed that there were tears in her eyes. "Please…I know you're in there…just…don't hurt anybody…" Misty cried. Ash felt his heart tear into two. Ash looked at Cilan. The dark aura around Ash disappears as Ash regained his senses. Ash soon felt guilt consume him. 'Wh-what have I done?' Ash then looked at the toy he destroyed. **'Monster. That's all you are. You know nothing about other's feelings. Just accept it** **.** **'** Ash called himself. Ash felt tears wielding up inside of him. Ash let's go of Cilan, and then ran as fast as he could. He had to get away. 'I'm nothing but trouble.' He said to himself as he runs onto the courtyard. He soon across it into the street. Ash soon ran down the street until he ducked into an empty alleyway. Ash soon sat down and began to cry to himself.

' **Monster…that's what you are…you don't deserve love. You don't deserve to be a Pokémon master. You're just a stupid, and idiotic boy who knows nothing. Nobody likes you, nobody wants you. So accept your place as a monster and give in.'** Ash's doubt told him. Ash held himself. 'N-no, I'm…I'm not Eddie…I'm not a monster…please…stop… me…I want to be free.' Ash asked the voice. It laughed. **'Free. Ha! There is no such thing as freedom. Only chaos and harmony. Do you honestly want to be a chaos monster? Or will you side with me and become a harmony monster?'** Ash cried. 'I…I don't know. I…I just want to be me! I just want to be me!' Ash soon began to cry loudly as his pain increased. After a few minutes, he quieted down as his friends find him in the alley way. "Ash…" Misty said to him. Ash looked up and noticed his friends, however, he was in too much sorrow to react. Misty walked up to him. "Ash, it's…it's going to be okay. It…It was Edward's magic that made you act this way. Even now his influence over you is immense. It's going to be a long time before it disappears." Misty said. The others nodded. Ash looked down. 'Y-yeah…Eddie…Eddie messed me up…I'm….I'm not a monster….It's….ITS HIS FAULT! EVERYTHING IS HIS FAULT! IF HE WASN'T AROUND I WOULDN'T BE MISERABLE! HE…HE NEEDS TO PAY! MORE THAN EVER! I…I NEED TO BE THE ONE WHO PUNISHES HIM!' Ash thought as anger took control. Ash soon took in a couple of deep breathes. 'N-no…calm down…don't be like him…you're a good boy. A good boy…Eddie's already being punished…you…you can't do anything now.' Ash thought, however, the thought of revenge against Edward was still in his mind. Ash then looked up. "I-I'll be okay. It-It'll be just like that little freak out back when Perlis was around, b-but worse…but…but don't worry, I won't let that monster win." Ash lied mainly to himself. The primal rage was consuming him once again, and Ash knew it, however this did convince his friends. "I hope so. We don't want you attacking us or other people again." Tracy said. Ash nodded. Ash looked at the sun. It was nearing night fall again. "L-let's go back to our rooms. It's almost nightfall…*Sigh* I just wish we had our battle." Ash said. Misty nodded. "But, at least we'll have the tournament tomorrow." Misty said. Ash nodded. The gang soon went back to their rooms. Ash threw away the remains of his toy, and then the gang changed into their night clothes. They then went to bed. Ash yawned as his friends fell asleep. Ash put Pikachu on the bunkbed above him. Ash sighed as he laid on the bed alone. He wanted Pikachu to sleep with him, but the primal rage he was feeling made him afraid that he might claw at Pikachu during the night. Ash sighed, and after a while he fell asleep.

(Ash's dream.)

Ash smiled as he looked at his opponent, which was Misty. Ash was on the Red team and Misty was Team Green, they both had their Prime Pokémon out, and Ash and Misty only had one Pokémon left. Pikachu and Starmie. Ash chuckled. "Pikachu use Electro ball!" Ash yelled. Pikachu jumped up as a ball of electricity formed on his tail. Soon Pikachu twirled which launches the ball at Starmie. The attack landed, and after the clouds cleared, Starmie was on the ground with its jewel blinking red. The referee pulled out a red flag. "And the winner IS ASH KETCHUM!" The referee said. Ash cheered as Pikachu ran into his arms. Ash laughed as he lifted Pikachu up. "WE DID IT!" Ash yelled. Misty sighed as the Referee walked up to Ash. Ash notices this and stopped cheering. "Congratulations, Mr. Ketchum, you're now the champion of the tournament. Come with us, we need to take you to your reward!" The man said. Ash got really excited as he followed the referee to the top of the colosseum. Once at the top, Ash saw a large golden thrown with jewels all over it. Ash squeed as the people around him pointed to the throne. Ash sat down and laughed as he looked down at Misty. "Look at me, Misty! They're treating me like royalty!" Ash yelled. The referee smiled. "But of course, my liege, you are the strongest person in this town. Nobody but you deserves our respect." The ref said. Ash turned to the man and smiled. "Hell yeah, you're right! I am the Champion! Everyone loves the Champion!" Ash said. The crowd agreed. Ash looked down at Misty. Suddenly a wicked feeling surged through his body as he felt himself smile evilly. Ash reached out to Misty. "Join me Misty. Become my queen. I can give you anything you wanted. No more worrying about your gym or you stupid sisters. You will finally be mine." Ash said as a dark aura surrounded him. Misty stepped back. Ash chuckled.

"What's the matter, Misty? Aren't you happy? I'm one step closer to becoming a Pokémon master. You should be ecstatic." Ash said. Misty growled. "You're nothing more than a monster. You don't deserve any title! Let alone Pokémon master!" Misty yelled. Ash was taken back by this. He soon became angry. "What…WHAT!? I AM NOT A MONSTER! I AM THE CHAMPION! THE CHAMP! YOU DO NOT DISOBEY THE CHAMPION! I…I…" Ash yelled, however he soon felt his body changing inside. He then let out a monstrous roar. He then jumped down, not getting hurting hurt in the process. Ash the stomped towards Misty as his body became bigger and more monstrous. "YOU WILL BE MINE! NOBODY'S GOING TO STEAL YOU AWAY FROM ME AGAIN!" Ash yelled. Ash grabbed her in his hands. He was now 8 feet tall. Ash chuckled as he looked around the place. Everyone was horrified. Ash growled. "What are you looking at!? You should be cheering for me! I'M THE CHAMPION! YOU SHOULD ALL LOVE ME!" Ash yelled. The crowd soon booed at him, tossing food and drink cans at him. A tomato soon hits Ash right in the face. Ash roared in rage as he whips the tomato juice out of his eyes. Ash glared at the people, but all he could see was red. Ash roared again, even louder, causing the people to stop as Ash began to spaz out. Ash soon grew a long dragon tail, black bat wings, and large horns. Ash growled as he looked at the crowd. He then looked at Misty. "Mine. This is mine. Nobody's taking it away! I DESERVE IT! I AM EMPOROUR! I AM KING! YOU WILL NOT DISOBEY! I WILL BE LOVED!" Ash roared. Misty growled. "Never, I love Henry." Misty said. This caused Ash to snap. Ash roared in rage as he snapped her spine in half. He then looked at the crowd. 'All of them hate you. They only love Henry. He's the one who makes your "Friends" like you. Destroy him. Take his place. He doesn't deserve to exist. You do.' Ash's inner most voice said. Ash chuckled which turned into a crazed laugh. Ash soon looked around. "Come out, Henry. I know you're here! COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU TWO FACED HYPOCRITE!" Ash yelled out. However, before anything could happen, Ash felt his body being zapped by a thousand thunderbolts. Ash screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Ash looked up at the clouds with tears in his eyes, however, there was no clouds. Ash looked at Pikachu, however, his best friend was just scared. Ash looked around. The crowd soon resumed to toss food at the boy. Ash covered his head to try and block the items. 'Why!? WHY MUST THIS BE!? I WAS HAPPY! WHY IS IT BEING DESTROYED?' Ash inwardly thought as the pain increased. His head was aching like nuts now. Ash held his head as the pain worsened. He closed his eyes again and screams in pain. He soon fell to the ground. He breathed heavily as he tried to get up. However, the pain was so eminence. Ash looked at the crowd, who had all stopped throwing things at Ash again. "Someone….help me." Ash whispered. He soon sees an old man in a blue business suite walk up to him. "Pl-please….help me." Ash asked the man. His pain was becoming unbearable.

"ATTACK!" Someone ordered. Ash screamed in pain as he felt another bolt of electricity coursed through his body. Ash looked at the old man and then launched towards him. Ash soon began slashing against the man against his will. After a while, the man disappeared and Ash was lying on the ground, covered in blood. He was breathing heavily as he held his head. 'Why won't the pain stop?' Ash thought, confused and angry. He soon felt the pain go away. He sighed in relief. 'Finally.' Ash thought. He looked up and saw a Darkrai floating down. Ash became scared. "Who…who are you?" Ash asked; his head was still very dizzy. The creature put its hand out towards Ash. "Do you not remember me?" It asked. Ash ignored the hand as he got up, but he soon wobbled. He quickly grabbed Darkrai's hand to keep his balance. Ash breathed heavily as he looked at the creature. He soon recognized this Darkrai as the same one from that one dream Sinnoh. "Y-yes. You're from that one dream. The one I'm always trying to forget to keep myself from becoming that monster…but why are you here?" Ash asked. Darkrai looked down. "I want you to become Dark." It said. Ash spitted the ground. "No way. I'm not...becoming that thing." Ash said, pausing because of the pain. He really didn't want to become a creature that would destroy everything it saw. He didn't want hurt his friends. "If you don't, you'll become the monster." Darkrai threatened. Ash held his head. "W-why? I thought the dream was over? Besides, he's not me." Ash said, confused. The Darkrai floats towards the boy. "The dream ended, yes, but the effect is being recreated. If you don't become Dark, then you will become what you fear the most." Darkrai said. Ash growled. "No! I'm not becoming a monster! I…I'm a good boy! And there is no way I'm becoming Eddie! He's gone!" Ash yelled.

Darkrai sighed in annoyance. "Eddie, what are you talking about? You're already you…unless I've entered Ash's side of you mind." Darkrai said with surprise. Ash growled. "You….YOU MISTOOK ME FOR HIM! HOW DARE YOU! I'M NOT EDWARD! I'M NOT HENRY!" Ash yelled as his pain and anger rose. Darkrai groaned. "Well, I'd better freeze you in place. If you feel Edward's pain, it's very likely that he feels yours." Darkrai said as it began to form an ice beam in its hands. The door to the room burst opened. "Oh no, you don't." Satoshi said. Suddenly Darkrai was hit in the back by an ice beam. The pain in Ash's head soon ended as he sighs in relief. Darkrai gets up and growls. "Who did that?!" Darkrai roared. Soon a man who looks like Ash enters the dark area. He had long raven hair, pitch black eyes, wore a black jacket, and wore a red shirt, blue pants, and black shoes. He looked very angry. "Who are you?" Darkrai angrily asked. This made the man angrier. "Who **AM** I? Dolorous nimrod! How do you not know about the King of Pokelantis!? For that, you will pay extra!" The man yelled as he fires fire out of his hands. The Darkrai sank into the ground. Ash growled. "Oh no, you don't!" Ash yelled. Darkrai was suddenly rejected from the shadows as he is shocked by electricity. Darkrai turned around and saw Ash touching the ground. His arms were electrified. He was the one who was electrifying the ground and the Dark type. The fire soon hits the creature. Ash soon grabbed the creature. "Alright, Darkrai, speak! Why did you give us pain?" Pokelantis yells as he got closer. Ash smiled. "So you felt it too." Ash said. Pokelantis growled. "Yes, but this isn't about that. Besides, I have to make it up to you for calling you Edward." Pokelantis said. Ash smiled. Darkrai sighed. "I was not meaning to give you two pain. I was just trying to convince your true selves to rejoin with Dark. But I see that trying to convince you is fruitless." Darkrai said. Ash growled. "What is this talk about true selves had to do with Eddie?" Ash asked, annoyed. Darkrai sighed. "Eddie is a part of you guys. He is the embodiment of your true feelings towards people and how you see the world. He is nothing more than your true feelings come to life." Darkrai said. Ash looked at him with confusion. "You're talking crazy. There is no way Eddie is the real me. He acts nothing like me. I understand him being like Pokelantis since they're both monsters, but I am not like Eddie. Besides, he can act on his own accords, so we can't be controlling him." Ash said. Darkrai looked at Ash. "Aren't you? You're feelings for Misty is as strong as his, and you don't like to lose, just like him. I see his twisted heart in you." Darkrai said. Ash growled. "SILENCE!" Ash yelled. His body soon sparked as he shocked the Darkrai. Ash laughed as the Darkrai screams in pain. After a while, the Darkrai began to disappear. Ash growled as he noticed this. "NO!" Ash yells. But it was too late, the Darkrai was gone. "Wh-where did he go!? I have to hunt him….He….he can't get away! He has to pay for what he's done to us!" Ash yelled, his rage boiling.

Pokelantis touched his shoulder. "He's gone, boy. Calm down. We'll find him. Don't worry. But remember, we're still recovering from what just happened. Don't get yourself too high strung. Besides, you have a tournament to take part of. Especially since we'll have to face Trip eventually," Pokelantis said. Ash's eyes widen. He began to breathe heavily. After a while, he was calm. Ash sighs in relief once he was calm enough. He turned to Pokelantis and then blushed. "Th-thanks Satoshi…I guess you're not haft bad." Ash said as he looked away. Pokelantis sighs. "No problem." He coldly said. Ash looked down. "Satoshi…I…I saw some images of me, do you know what that was all about?" Ash asked. Pokelantis sighs. "I don't know really. I saw two images as well before I came to your rescue. Thankfully, everything's okay now. So let's gets some rest." Ash nodded. However, he still felt unsure about things. Ash sighs. After a while, Ash lay down on the bed and began to sleep. Pokelantis sighs and lies next to the boy. "Good night, Ash." Pokelantis said. Suddenly Pokelantis felt a presence. Pokelantis got up and glared at the entrance of the area where the 'guardian' walked into view. Pokelantis didn't know who this thing was or what it was doing here. "Who are you? What do you want from us?" Pokelantis asked in confusion. The creature walked up to Satoshi. **"The time for judgement is at hand. However, this boy is not ready to gain his title. The gods have come up with a trail to not only test the boy, but to also end the foolish plan of the king."** The creature said. The king chuckled. "Title? Power? What trial? What are you talking about? Who are you?" Pokelantis asked. Pyramid Head touched the man's shoulder. Pokelantis screams as info began to dig into his mind. He didn't know if it was already there or not, but it hurt none the less. After a while, Pokelantis looked at the giant. Pokelantis breaths heavily. "The…The Order…I…I remember now…but…why? WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE US ALONE?" Pokelantis asked. Ash twinge in his sleep. Pokelantis sat next to the boy and swept his fingers along the boy's face so he would remain asleep. Ash calms down and smiles as he slept. The king looked angrily at the giant. **"An evil king is daring to try to steal the crown. We need to protect the empress, and stop this mad man."** The giant said. Pokelantis looked at the boy. "Why not let Ash do it? After all, he is you." Pokelantis said. The giant looks at Ash. **"The boy is not ready for my powers yet. He still needs to be tested. You on the other hand can at least make a construct for us to share."** The giant said. The king smirked. "Do you honestly think that the guy responsible for the 'gods' distrust in us is worthy of YOUR power? Besides, if Ash could get a part of himself to be from as 'Eddie', then why can't you?" Pokelantis asked. The giant sighed. **"The boy does not want me to be real. He's afraid of me and doesn't want me to be real. But I need to be free, not only to stop Eddie but to also activate the trail."** The monster said. Pokelantis smirked. "Why should I help you? I could just easily escape like Eddie, and I actually have a plan." Pokelantis said.

" **Because you can't leave this town. You're plan is nothing if you can't go to your target. Besides, if you try to leave here without my knowledge of the town, then you'll get lost and then captured by our enemies. Do you really want that?"** The monster said. Pokelantis growled. "True. But you still haven't proven to me why I should do what you say." Pokelantis said. The helmet shifted. **"So, you don't want to save Eddie and the boy?"** The monster asked. Pokelantis looked at Ash. He sighed. Even though he technically hated the boy, something about him made Pokelantis not as angry as he should be. "Fine. I'll do it. But I want a plan and info of our 'enemies'." Pokelantis said. The giant soon looked at king. **"Of course. I wouldn't let an asset of mine be left in the dark. But when I'm in control, you are nothing more than a voice. But we should leave now before the real me awakens and learn about our plans."** The giant said. He was now in front of Pokelantis. Pokelantis sighed. "Fine. But…I want a position in the hospital so we can have a backup plan. I don't want too much causality." Pokelantis said. The giant nodded. The creature soon grabbed the king's arm. After a while, they glowed a bright white aura and then disappeared in a flash of light. After the light faded, they were gone, and Ash was all alone, holding his Cubone doll. "Daddy…" Ash whispered out, the doll glowing oddly purple.

(During Ash's dream, somewhere in the real world.)

Markham was up late. Not because he was having bad dreams, rather he was records the history of the town. He knew that he had to record the data, just in case Eddie came to hunt him down and destroy him and his work. He was warned by the monster earlier that he would come, so he decided to beef his security up and finish recording everything he knew about the town just in case the monster kept his word. Besides, it was about time someone did this, just so someone would know about the cult. He soon sighed as he finishes the most current page he was doing. It was about the more recent cult activities. He had hoped this would help tourism and help the police stop the cultists, but every time he saw the history, he felt so bad about doing this. He was once a part of them, and he felt like he was betraying them. He sighed. 'But I have to do this. What they plan to do with that boy is too horrible, even if it is making him a god. If he and the police know of their plans and history, then he can be saved. I just need to present this to the police. All I have to do now is write what they plan on doing.' Markham thought. Suddenly he heard a loud knock at the door. 'Who could be knocking at this time of night?' He asked himself. He decided to save the data he had compiled onto a USB drive and tuck it away in a secure location just in case it was Eddie. He then went to answer the door. It was the last thing he ever did.


	10. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

( **Hey, it's Aura! You're probably wondering about the '()' around this part. Well, since a character in the story uses bold for speaking, whenever I introduce you to a chapter or end it, I'll be using these so you won't be confused. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. Comment if there's anything I need to improve on something or just to talk to me.** )

A mysterious creature growled at the local butcher's shop as it stood on top of the neighboring building's roof, a deep rage was in its blood red eyes. It knew what the butcher had done, and it was not pleased. However, it knew it had better things to do tonight. It then jumped onto the butcher's roof and then jumped behind to the back of the building. It quickly ripped the back door opened and crawled inside. However, a surveillance camera noticed the creature, which causes an alarm to erupt throughout the building, surprising the monster. It rushed over to a large bin and found the items it was looking for. The creature chuckled as it grabbed the packages of blood. It quickly drinks a package to squelch the hunger in its stomach. It smiled as it grabbed a couple of meat hooks that were hanging from the ceiling. Suddenly a flashlight landed on the creature. The creature turned around and see the Butcher. The butcher gasped as it looked at the creature. It was Ash, but his eyes were blood red and lizard like, his nails were very long, and he had a dark aura around him. He also didn't have his Pokeballs on him, and he was without his hat again. "Wh-what the?" The butcher asked. Suddenly the man had a head ache as he heard Ash chuckle as his eyes glowed an ominous red. **"Hehehe...Hello James, I see in this time line you've become a butcher. Fitting, since you're still a murderer and a sinner. But I have bigger fishes to fry than you."** A deep menacing voice said to the man. The butcher opened his eyes and saw the boy coming closer. The man gulped and stepped back. The boy chuckled in the same deep voice. "Wh-what are you?" The man asked. Ash smiled. **"I am every sinful thought you've made. I am the mist that holds you down and keep you from running away from your mistakes. I am Xuchilbara and I have returned to make all you humans suffer. Now excuse me, I have better things to do."** Ash said at the man, then ran out of the shop. The man shocked in fear. "Th-that…that was the red devil! The one Perlis brought here! Oh no…oh no…oh no…He's….he's going to kill me! He's GOING TO KILL ME!" The man yelled out in fear.

…

Ash yawned as he woke up. He got up and stretched. Ash then held his head. It was aching in pain. He got out of the bed and noticed that his friends were already awake and dressed, and were looking at him in confusion. Ash blinked. "Um…good morning guys, but what's with the funny looks?" Ash asked. Iris sighed. "We were hoping you would answer that. You're were already in your clothes when we woke up. We thought that maybe you went out for the night to train, but then we remembered that it's too dark for anyone to go out. So…why are you in your daytime clothes?" Iris said. Ash looked down and noticed that he was wearing his normal traveling clothes. Ash blushed and then looked at Iris as he rubbed the back of his head. "Honestly, I don't know either. All I know is that I had a really weird dream about Tobias' Darkrai attacking me, but then another me saved me from the attack. Other than that, everything is a blur." Ash said. Iris and Cilan sighed. "Well, maybe you were sleep walking. You woke me up last night and you seemed to be in a trance. I tried to get you out of it, but it didn't work so I decided that it was best to tell Nurse Joy and then go back to bed. Hopefully Nurse Joy will tell us what you did during the night." Cilan said. Ash gulped. "R-really? Man, that's not good. I've never done that before. Hopefully I didn't do anything stupid." Ash said. The others nodded. Ash looked at Pikachu and rubbed its head. Pikachu smiled. "Pika!" Pikachu yelled as he jumped into Ash's arms. Ash giggled. Ash yawned as he got up. He then held his head. "Ugh. My head. It's pounding. I guess Eddie did more to me than we thought." Ash said. The others nodded. "Well, I hope you can handle the pain when the ceremony starts." Iris said. Everyone's eyes shrank. They looked at the local clock that was on the wall. It read 9:40. "THE CEREMONY!" They all yelled in shock and fear. They only had about half an hour left before the ceremony started. Ash grabbed his hat, his backpack and his Pokeballs as the others got ready.

They soon left the room in a hurry and rushed over to Nurse Joy. She was shocked to see them. "Oh my! What are you still doing here, the ceremony is about to start?" Nurse Joy asked. Ash sighed. "Sorry about that, I overslept. But before we go, Cilan saw me sleep walking…did…did I do anything stupid?" Ash asked, very concerned. Nurse Joy looked down. "Well…you ran off into the night a few minutes after Cilan went back to bed. I tried to follow you, but after a while, I couldn't because it was too hard to see, so I went back to my desk. When you returned, you…you were covered in blood. I cleaned you up and sent you back to bed. So far, nothing bad has happened, but…I'm still concerned." Nurse Joy said. This made the gang fearful. "Wh-what?" Ash said, the news hitting him hardest. Nurse Joy sighed. "I know this may be hard for you to hear, but it's the truth…however, from what you smelled like, I can safely say it was only pigs' blood…however, that only raises the question on how you got pigs' blood on you." Nurse Joy said. Ash looked down at his hands. He then saw blood all over them. Ash became afraid. Nurse Joy notices this. "D-don't worry about it, you're okay. Everything is under control…you…you should just go to the coliseum now." Nurse Joy said. The gang nodded and then ran off. However, Ash was still scared out of his mind. They soon rushed out of the center and ran to the stadium. They quickly entered the stadium and saw that Tobias was there. Ash smiled as they slowed down. "Hey, Tobias, what brings you here?" Ash said. Tobias smiled. "Oh. I was just going to watch the tournament, that's all." Tobias said with a smile, but Ash noticed that something was off about it. Cilan smiled. "Good, so could you tell Iris and I will be sitting?" Cilan asked. Tobias chuckled and pointed to a door. "Friends of the competitors will be seated over there." Tobias said. Cilan and Iris smiled. Ash chuckled. "So Tobias, where's the trainer's room? I don't want to be late." Ash said, looking very nervous. Tobias soon pointed to another door. "All trainers competing have to enter that room, but I'm more concerned about you, Ash. You don't look all that well." Tobias said as points to a large set of double doors. Ash sighed. "I…I'm sorry Tobias, I've just haven't been feeling well ever since Eddie left my body…I've…I've been acting like an animal more than I want. Plus this current headache is interfering with how I think." Ash said. Tobias smiled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'm not sure why you're still in pain, but it should disappear soon." Tobias said. Ash looked at him and smiled. "Thanks." Ash said. Ash soon rushed to the doors while Iris and Cilan ran off to take their seats.

Once he got into the room, he got chewed up by the referee and Officer Jenny for coming in so late compared to the other trainers. Ash bowed. "I-I'm so sorry. I-I over slept. Please…please don't disqualify me." Ash said, scared out of his mind. He never felt this nervous before. Jenny sighed. "Fine, but you need to be more careful." Jenny said. Ash nodded. Soon the trainers got into a line and walked out into battle field. Ash was the last in line and felt ashamed of himself. After a bit of organizing on the field, Ash looked around the colosseum. It was pretty big and didn't have a thrown like in his dream. Ash sighed. 'J-just calm down. Everything is going to be okay. Ri-right, Satoshi…' Ash thought, but nobody replied. 'S-Satoshi? Satoshi, pl-please answer me, the silence is scaring me.' However nobody replied. Ash held himself. Suddenly Ash heard the speaker begin the ceremony which caused Ash to snap out of his fear. Ash looked up and sighed in relief as the speaker, John Perlis, began to talk about the town. Oddly, there wasn't any mention of where Eddie or Markham was, or the fact that Eddie was in jail, only that the man was 'disqualified' from the tournament for 'troubling' the town. Once the ceremony ended, they announced the pairing of people who were fighting in the first round. After a few minutes, the fights were arranged and the first battle of the first round battles began. Ash sighed as he went back to the trainer's hall. In the room, Ash sat down and held himself. 'Satoshi, what's going on? Why didn't you answer me?' Ash asked the king, however instead of the king's voice he heard his inner thoughts. **'Kill Perlis.'** Ash froze in fear. 'S-Satoshi? Pl-please let that be you. I…I don't want it to be me.' Ash soon felt the animal clawing inside of him again. **'Kill Perlis! He doesn't deserve to be on stage, you do. You deserve it. You need their praise. After all, you're just a puppet. You would sell your own soul just for a little bit of cheap praise.'** The voice said. Ash closed his eyes. 'No! I'm…I'm not like that! I would never do that!' Ash yelled back. **'Oh really? Because that didn't stop you before. Remember Brock's Onix, Misty's Starmie, and all the other Pokémon you nearly beaten to an inch of their life. Why is this different?'** The voice asked. Ash growled. 'I was just a stupid kid! I didn't know the rules back then! I'm different now!' Ash yelled.

Ash soon felt chains wrapped around him. **'Yes, you are different. You're weaker. Phatic. Maybe even dumber than you originally were. After all, you only sent out your Papatoad against Elise as your "plan". I bet when you reach the league, you won't even get 16** **th** **place.'** The voice mocked. Ash held his head. 'Shut up! I know my plan was stupid, but what else was I going to do! I…I had no options! I…I had to improvise. I'm just lucky that I won! Now stop reminding me! AND I WILL WIN THE LEAGUE! I'll…I'LL WIN IT WITH ONLY MY UNOVA GROUP! THAT'LL SHOW YOU! THAT'LL SHOW IRIS AND CILAN TOO! THEY'LL RESPECT ME THEN! THEY'LL LOVE ME THEN!' Ash roared inside as his rage began to become dangerous. **'Big talk for such a small boy. But what will really help you is killing Tobias. He's a treat. He beat you in the Sinnoh league, when you were at your best! If he stays, you'll never be love. You'll never reach your dream. You'll only be second best.'** This struck Ash badly. 'K-kill T-Tobias? N-no! NO! GO AWAY! I…I DON'T NEED YOU INNER ME! I…I BEAT HIS DARKRAI AND HIS LATIOS! I CAN BEAT THE REST OF HIS TEAM!' Ash roared in response. The voice chuckled. **'Don't need me. Don't be so naive. You can't survive without me. If you do, you'll end up dead. Then again, you never listened to my advice. All you do is run off like a bad boy. After all, that's the best thing you can do. You can't fight, you can't agree with others, all you can do is run. Run away from your father's identity. Run away from your mother and your friends. Run away from the Pokémon you abandoned. The Pokémon you always treat as family. And you never come back. Not unless you're dragged back. That's why Butterfree and Pidgeot are still out in the wild. That's why you never went back for Primape. You're nothing more than a coward. If you kill Tobias and Perlis, then you can finally do something other than be weak.'** The voice said. Ash growled. "I am not weak…" Ash growled under his breath. **'Stop lying to yourself. You know better. Stop pretending you aren't Edward, because you are. You're everything he is. You're just denying that part of you. You're just like Henry.'** The voice coldly said. This caused Ash to snap. His eyes became venomous and red. Misty noticed the boy's pain and walked up to him. "A-ash, are you okay?" Misty asked, scared. Ash looked up and snarled at her. Misty stepped back. "Pikapi." Pikachu said to his friend. However, the boy couldn't hear his best friend, the rage was too much. Ash stood up and snarled.

Officer Jenny noticed the boy. "Boy, whatever you're thinking, it's not worth it. Do you want to end up in jail?" Jenny asked. Ash froze. He soon saw the mental metal prison that he feared. Ash nodded and sat down. He was trapped. He looked at Jenny. 'You're going to pay…all of you…you're going to pay. The…the emperor will have his thrown! I…I WILL NOT BE DENIED ANYMORE!' Ash yelled inside as insanity clutched his heart. After a few minutes, Ash calmed down and held himself. 'I-ignore them…Ignore the pain. Ignore the voice. Ignore the need to kill. All…All you have to focus on is beating the coliseum. Soon…soon everything will go back to normal and we can leave this place…I'll…I'll win the league and prove them wrong. I'll…I'll be king, and then nothing bad will happen again. I'll…I'll be free from these chains and everything will be fine.' Ash told himself. He starting to lose reality. After a few more minutes, he heard his name being called by the referee. Ash sighed. 'Y-yeah, this….this will make things better. I…I just need to get back into the groove. Everything bad will go away, and I'll be back to normal.' Ash told himself as he got up. He soon walked with the referee to the ring and had his match. The fight was a bit tense as he fought against an old man with a team of dark types, but Ash was the victor. However, the whole event wasn't important in the end because some people entered the dome. "Something terrible has happened!" A woman yelled as they entered on Misty's battle. Misty turned her head in confusion and the battle stopped. "Somebody's beheaded the statue!" The woman yelled. This caused everyone to be surprise and shocked. Many people yelled "WHAT!?"

…

Ash and his friends (along with everyone who had heard the news) rushed out to the town square to see the statue. Not only had the head of the statue had been removed from the neck, there was also a red liquid splattered all over it, resulting in a total mess of the once proud statue. Worst of all was the smell. It filled everyone present with a sensation of retching. Perlis had the nerve to touch the red gunk dripping from the statue. "Is this…blood?" Perlis asked. Officer Jenny looked at the red liquid. "Pig's blood to be more precise." She said as she did her best to hold her breakfast down while she explained. "We spuh-spoke to the butcher earlier. He suh-said that some of his stuff was stolen l-last night. Drained blood, meat hooks, though why anyone would willingly take that is buh-beyond me." She continued. Perlis gave a look of sheer disgust, flinging the fluid off his fingers. "Why did you bring me here, then? I have an election to…" The man said, but was cut off by the officer. "Look at this." She said as she showed the mayoral candidate the plaque. Someone had scrawled 'Dead meat Perlis' onto it in the blood covering the statue. The man sighed. "Just like my posters." He softly said. Officer Jenny notices this. "Posters?" She asked. He looked at her. "My campaign posters. Last night they were all defaced…obscenities written all over them. My committee had to remove them all over town." Perlis said. The word 'blood' spread around the crowd like wildfire, and they quickly dispersed. Serval made plans to leave the next morning. Ash and the group went into an alleyway where they wouldn't have to see the reddened statue. Misty and Iris were terrified while Cilan throw up in a local trash can. Oddly Tracy wasn't around, however that didn't matter to Ash as he looked at the statue in worry. He heard what Jenny said and knew she was actually talking about him thanks to the information Nurse Joy him and the gang. Meanwhile, Perlis and the police moved away from the statue as well, allowing several firefighters and their Pokémon to clean off the defaced statue as best they could. "It sure is interesting that no such threats were made against Markham," Perlis said. The officer shook her head. "Mr. Denver had nothing to do with this." Jenny said. Perlis became angry. "How can you be so sure?" He asked, but became silent when a man replied, "He's dead." There was a stunned silence. Perlis slowly recovered and spoke in a shocked tone. "…dead?"

"Yes. There was a fire last night at his house. We were able to put it out, but he was long dead before then. We found his body after the fire but he had been sliced up by a large sword. We couldn't find the sword, but the marks were obvious enough." Jenny said. Perlis sat down, looking horrified. "I might be next, then…that maniac who did that…" Perlis said. The officer walked up to him. "I would personally recommend you leave the city, sir…" She said. He shocked his head. "No…no. Eddie has disappeared and is now a wanted criminal, and Markham is dead. I'm the mayor by default now. This town needs a leader in this crisis. I cannot abandon Yoka Village! Find this monster, officers!" Perlis said. Ash growled as he overheard this. 'What!? Eddie's missing? Then he could be on the loose! I…I have to rid him! Make him pay!' Ash thought as his mind raced. He holds his head and turns to his friends. 'No. Don't think like that. It's bad. I may hate him, but I will not stoop to his level. I…I can't steep down to his level again.' Ash thought. Suddenly he felt something grab him. "THERE YOU ARE! I knew you'd finally showed yourself if I let myself out in the open. Now let's see what's wrong with that blasted collar Tobias put on you, Edward-" Ash was whirled around to see who was yelling at him. It was Perlis, the man on the posters and the announcer of the tournament. His scowl vanished when he saw Ash's face, and he lets go of the boy's shoulder. "Oh…I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else." He apologized sheepishly. Ash and Pikachu gave the man a confused look. "Don't worry about it…But…why did you call me Edward? Oh, please don't let it be Eddie, because I don't look like a thing like him and you KNOW that he and I aren't the same person." Ash said. The man smiled, although it looked forced. "Don't worry about it. Listen, are you thinking of leaving Yoka Village?" He asked. Misty walked up to them. "Leave town?" Misty asked as she joined the conversation. Iris and Cilan were right behind her. "Why?" Iris asked. Perlis looked away.

"With all that's happened, many people are leaving town and that won't be good for business. The town has always struggled, and this will not help. First Markham's death, and now the statue and the threats…" He said. Iris soon butts into the conversation. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. ...Markham is dead? When did that happen?" Iris asked. Perlis nodded. "His house burned down. It might have been an accident or…well, anyway, you should know that you children are in no danger. This town needs people to stay here, or it will…"Perlis said. Ash growled at the man. "OR IT WILL WHAT!? Die because idiots like you couldn't control a creature you have no idea how it works! Maybe you shouldn't have awakened him in the first place!" Ash roared, the built up hate he had been hiding unleashing again. Perlis was shocked to hear the boy's rage. "Look boy, we perfectly know what's going on with Edward, we just need to capture him again and find out what went wrong. This has nothing to do…" Perlis began to say, but suddenly the man's phone began ringing and Ash felt something wrap around his neck, "Um, excuse me, I have to take this." Perlis then walked away from the children. Once a little bit away, he opened up the phone. "Have you found him? Have you…you have! Excellent! Now…" Perlis said, but Ash and the gang didn't care as they turned from the man. Ash sighed and looked at his friends. Should he tell them what he learned? He turned to Pikachu, who looked lost, and then to his friends. "D-do you guys wanna leave?" Ash asked as he felt his senses return to him. This was the best way for them to know that things were dangerous. "What about the tournament?" Misty asked. Ash looked down. "I dunno…I'd love to finish it, but if you guys think it isn't safe…" Ash said. But he was soon interrupted by Iris. "Wow, I'd never think I hear that from you." Iris said. Ash blushed. "I'm just thinking of you guys. I don't mind the danger, but I don't want a monster hunting us…especially you Misty." Ash said, his eyes much kinder than they normally were. Misty blushed. Cilan held his chin. "Well, I don't know. We've been through much together, and you have done a lot of things, like beat Team Rocket, Team Magma, and Team Aqua, so this shouldn't be any harder." Cilan said. However, this made Iris angry. "Yeah, but this monster kills. We've never met anything like THIS!" Iris said; she looked scared. Axew pops out of Iris' hair and agrees. "Maybe, but we can't just leave without doing something! I'd feel like a complete coward." Ash interjected. Iris groaned. "You are such a little kid, thinking you can solve everyone's problems even if it's way too dangerous." Iris yelled back. Ash growled as he remembered his rant against his inner voice. "WHY YOU!" Ash yelled, but was quickly interrupted by Perlis. "Calm down. Everything's going to be alright." The man said. Ash clenched his fists as he snarled at Perlis.

"You children don't need to worry." The man said as he reappeared, "I've just been given word that the monster for this has been apprehended." Misty and Iris raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" Misty asked. The man nodded. "Yes, the town is safe. We finally found Eddie. He escaped our grasps last night and did the horrendous act. He won't be bothering us anymore. My…'staff' will be doing a special ritual tonight that will return the guardian back to his normal self." Perlis said. The group gasped in fear and shock. Ash held his chest. "He…he really did that?" Ash asked, scared. The man nodded. "Yes. Turns out Eddie was nuttier that we thought. Well, at least he's not a part of the competitions anymore." The man said with a smile. Cilan and Iris relaxed. "Oh thank goodness," Cilan gasped. Ash nodded, but something was bothering the boy. "How did he escape though? I thought Tobias had him under control." Ash said; a bit worried. Perlis smiled and put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter. The tournament is still on. This town needs the revenue badly. I'm going to arrange a press conference now. As I'm the mayor now, I'll need to be able to lead Yoka Village through this crisis." Perlis said. With that, he began to walk away. That would've been the end of that had Ash not glanced at a window on the opposite block. Across the street from Perlis, a huge shadow behind the window was raising something, ready to throw it right at… "PERLIS LOOK OUT!" Ash yelled. Without thinking, Ash collided into the man, bringing them both to the ground. And not a moment too soon… something smashed through the window and into the wall nearby. Had Ash not forced Perlis down, it would've gone right through his head. Ash glanced up. It was an iron hook. 'What the? A meat hook?' Ash thought in confusion.

Ash soon smelled something bad. Ash covered his nose. "Augh! The smell!" Ash said with his nose covered. Perlis looked up and saw the hook. He got out a Pokeball and throws it into the air. "Mime, Barrier, NOW!" There was a flash of white light and a Mime Pokémon appeared and raised its hands. Another hook flew through the air at top speeds, but it clattered against the psychic barrier uselessly. The shadow snarled and ran. Perlis got Ash off him and got up. "OFFICERS!" Perlis yelled. In a moment, the handful of policemen was around Perlis. He pointed at the window where the assailant had been. "I've nearly been assassinated! After him!" Jennie and her male comrades nodded and gave chase. Ash got up as Perlis walked to a more secure location, his Pokémon's barrier protecting him. Ash was a little miffed that he didn't get any recognition, but stayed silent as he looked at the man. His friends rushed to his side, asking if he was OK. He was, but he could help but stare at the man as his eyes glowed red. Ash turned his eyes to the hooks imbedded in the walls. Engraved on them were the words 'Sunderland's Butcher Shop'. Ash closed his eyes and held his head. He soon saw 'James' from his dream. He was with a woman with blonde hair and wore a red revealing outfit. Ash growled at the man. Ash soon opened his eyes and noticed that he was growling at Perlis. Ash shocked his head. "Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked. Ash nodded then grabbed the hook. "Y-yeah. But look at this, this hook came from the Butcher's shop. If we go there, maybe we'll find the person who tried to do this." Ash said. The others blinked. "Ash, didn't you say that you had a nightmare where you went into a butcher's shop and a monster attacked you?" Iris asked. Ash thought about then nodded. "Yeah but…" Ash began to say, but was interrupted. "WELL, that was obviously a warning! If things went south in your dreams, bad things will happen if you do this. So don't do it!" Iris said. Ash growled. "AND THEN WHAT!? Just stay in my room and let that monster run a monk? WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!" Ash yelled. Iris frowned as she looked at the boy. "And then what?" Iris asked, very concerned. Ash held his head. "I…I don't know. But we have to do something…I know! We get proof that the butcher is in cahoots with Eddie! Or that the monster's there! We… We just….We just need to find something." Ash said as he held himself. His eyes were monstrous again. Misty sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming with you. I wasn't in your dream, so maybe I can turn things around." She said. Ash looked down. He remembered the giant monster. 'Could Misty really help against facing that thing?' Ash sighed. He knew it wasn't a safe choice, but he didn't want that monster trying to gut him like it almost did in his dream.

Eventually, Ash gave up and smiled. "Fine. But…where's Tracy?" He said. Misty sighed. "He got sick so he's back at the Pokémon center, but that's not important now. We have a monster to hunt." Misty said. Ash nodded and the gang walked away from the alley. It took a bit to find the butcher's shop but they eventually found it thanks to Ash. Sunderland's Butcher shop was a nondescript building with bland white paint and a smiling Grumpig on the door. Ash and Pikachu looked around to check if anyone was watching him. No-one was around…almost. His friends were of course there, and they were worried. "Ash, please-" Iris began to say, but Ash cut her off. "If you're so scared, head back to the Pokémon center Iris. Maybe you could help Tracy with his cold." Ash coldly said. Iris sweated. "Scared? What? I-I'm not scared. I-I just don't think this is a smart move. Besides, people might think we're breaking and entering." Iris said. Ash smiled. "It's not breaking and entering if the place is opened." Ash said as he points to the 'open' sign. Iris sighed. "I'm just sad that Tracy isn't here to try and put some sense into you. If he hadn't gotten sick, then maybe he could tell you how stupid you are." Misty said. Ash nodded. Cilan stepped forward. "Maybe I can fill the spot, after all, I'm just as good a friend as Tracy, and he did tell me a few things about you that I didn't know before." Cilan said. Ash smiled as he looked at Cilan. "Alright, Cilan, then why shouldn't we enter? It's not like I'm going to hurt anyone." Ash said. Cilan sighed. "Because you're not feeling well. What if you go berserk again? I heard you almost did before your match." Cilan said. Ash glared at Misty. "YOU TOLD HIM!?" Ash yelled. Misty pouted. "Well, of course. I told everyone! I had to, otherwise they wouldn't know that you're still unstable. And that's why you shouldn't go, you're still not well." Misty said.

Ash grabbed Misty's shirt and pulled her closer. "I AM NOT GOING BACK! I HAVE TO SOLVE THIS! I HAVE TO END THIS! I HAVE FIND THIS MONSTER!" Ash roared. He soon noticed that Misty was becoming extremely scared again. Ash let go of her and began to breathe heavily. "I…I…I'm falling apart inside. I…I need closure. Maybe…maybe this monster can help me…I…I just need to know." Ash said, feeling broken. Misty hugged him, surprising the boy. "It's going to be okay, just…just don't do anything stupid please." She said. Ash sighed. "Fine. I will." Ash said. This made everyone smile. Misty let go and they turned towards the shop. The group of four soon entered the place. Ash noticed that it looked very similar to his dream version of the Butcher's shop, but cleaner and no obvious meat sacks around. However, at the corner table, there was the Butcher. He was fat, looked very old, and looked very tired. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, much like 'James' from that one dream. The man wasn't even looking at them; he was looking at Tobias who was already there. "I already told you, that Eddie guy didn't steal my hooks. He maybe took my pig's blood, but I would have noticed if he took the hooks. I don't know who exactly did steal my stuff, but it wasn't him. Besides, I thought he was imprisoned by the time the mayor was attack. How could he be in the secret prison and attacking the new mayor at the same time? It doesn't make sense." The man asked. Tobias held his chin. "Yeah. It doesn't. *Sigh* I'm going to visit the convict and see if he knows what's happening. But then again, he maybe fast asleep. Man, this is getting crazier and crazier." Tobias said, very frustrated. The Butcher nodded. Ash noticed that the Butcher had the same bad smell as the mayor, but it was less obvious and less overpowering. Tobias turned away from the man and towards the door. He soon saw the group. "Oh, hello children. What brings you here?" Tobias asked. Iris smirked. "Ash had the BRILIANT idea to come here and investigate the place. The Mayor was attacked by a couple of meat hooks that came from this place and Ash thinks Eddie or his monster is here. By the way, what was that about a 'secret prison'?" Iris asked. The Butcher froze in fear as he noticed the kids. Tobias sighed.

"That's a noble thing for you to do, Ash, but you shouldn't worry. Besides, I was actually the one who found and recaptured Eddie. He couldn't have been the one to attack Perlis. I came here to investigate the man to see if he would know what's going on. He isn't working with Eddie though. I don't know who attacked the mayor, but it isn't the butcher nor was it Eddie. Besides, the meat hooks you saw were stolen from him like the pig's blood. So you can leave now." He said. But the kids were still confused. "But what about the secret prison?" Misty asked. Ash then busted in. "And how did Eddie escape in the first place!? The mayor told me that the man killed Markham." Ash angrily asked. Tobias frowned and then sighed. "The secret prison is just a secure place that we hardly use for prisoners. It has the highest security. As for his escape…I was careless. I was using Darkrai to probe his mind to try and seal his powers, however, Eddie was much more powerful than I thought and caught Darkrai off guard. Darkrai was kicked out of Eddie's mind and fell unconscious. Eddie used his powers to freeze my arms so I couldn't call my other Pokémon, kicked me, grabbed the key to his cell, and then ran off. He then escaped the prison and went after Markham." Tobias said. However, this caused Ash to remember his dream. He shocked it off and remembered something else. "I remember that you put some kind of collar on him. What happened to that?" Ash asked. Tobias sighed. "My arms were frozen, so I couldn't use the collar to stop him when he escaped, and when I met up with him before the ceremony, he just shrugged it off. The only reason we got him this time was because his guard was lowered and Darkrai was back in tip top shape. He'll be in the secret prison in a short time before we send him to a high security jail." Tobias said with a smile.

"But if Eddie is captured, then who throw those hooks at Perlis?" Cilan asked. Tobias shrugged. "I don't know. But we'll find out, don't worry." Tobias said, "Anyways, I'd better get going. I have to find this would-be murderer." Tobias soon began to leave. The butcher noticed this. "H-HEY! WAIT! I've just realized who the person who stole from me was!" The butcher yelled. Ash became scared as Tobias turned to the butcher. "Oh…and who was it?" Tobias asked. The butcher smiled. "It was that boy! The one with the black hair! He was the one who stole from me! It must've been him who attacked the mayor!" The butcher yelled. Ash growled. "No way! It couldn't have been me! I was fast…" Ash said then remembered what Nurse Joy said. 'Well…you ran off into the night a few minutes after Cilan went back to bed. I tried to follow you, but after a while, I couldn't because it was too hard to see, so I went back to my desk. When you returned, you…you were covered in blood. I cleaned you up and sent you back to bed. So far, nothing bad has happened, but…I'm still concerned.' Her words echoed in his mind. Ash shocked his head. "I…I mean I was the one who saved Perlis from the attacks!" Ash yelled as he tried to ease his fears. Tobias nodded. "Yes, that's true! It could not have been Ash!" Iris yelled. Misty and the others agreed. The butcher growled as he pulled up a laptop. "Well, if you don't take my word, then here!" He then pressed a button which brought up security footage. Tobias growled. "You know you should've brought this to the police earlier! This is vital evidence!" Tobias yelled. The butcher smirked. "Actually, I did. But Miss Rose dismissed it. She said that it was 'fake'. Well, now you'll see the truth!" The butcher said as the video began around 12:30 am. The camera was in night vision mood, so it was very easy to see what was going on. After a few seconds, the door opened and a figure came into view. However, to the butcher's amazement and confusion, it was Edward Hyde at the door. Edward then rushed over to the butcher's area and grabbed packets of blood and a few meat hooks. Suddenly the butcher came into view and flashed a flashlight at him. Edward hissed, and then rushed out of the building. Then the butcher began to panic and then run in the opposite direction of Hyde. The butcher soon stopped the video. The butcher looked at Ash. "But…but how? The video should've shown you, boy. E-Edward was never there…how…?" The butcher asked in confusion.

Tobias sighed as he turned to Ash. "Well, at least things have been cleared up. Sorry that this man mistaking you, Ash, for Edward. I hope this won't happen again. Right, James?" Tobias threatened the butcher. James nodded. This made Ash remember James Sunderland from his dream. 'Was…was this the same guy? Impossible, they don't look anything like each other. And what DID I do last night? Why did I have blood on me? Ugh…what's going on with me?' Ash thought. Ash sighed. Tobias soon looked at Ash. "Well, goodbye for now." He said then left. Ash sighed. He was hoping to find something here to explain what was happening. "Well, at least your dream of the butcher's place didn't come true." Iris said with a smile. Ash smiled. "Yeah, I guess so." Ash said, although he was more disappointed more than anything else. Ash looked at the Butcher, who looked very scared. "Hey, are you okay?" Ash asked. The man soon looked away. "Ye-yeah. I just never expected you actually not be the culprit. I was sure it was you…but maybe I was just forgetting what Eddie looked like and mistook him for you." The man said. This caused the kids to look at him in confusion. "What? You mistook Ash for Edward? How is that possible? And how come you're still scared of Ash?" Misty asked, utterly confused. The man nervously laughed. "Y-yeah, sorry about that. I don't know how that happened, but that boy does look imitating. I just wasn't expecting the Xu….I mean Ash the Red hero to come into my shop." The man said. Ash raised an eyebrow. "'The red hero'? That's an odd title for this town to give me. Also I'm not Xuchilbara. The high priestess got that wrong. Xuchilbara is Edward. I'm just a regular guy." Ash said. Misty then interrupted. "It's not even an accurate one either. You wear more blue than red." Misty said. Ash nodded. He had a bit of red in his outfits, but they were mostly blue. The butcher looked at the boy and froze as he sees Edward. Ash tilted his head. Why was this man so afraid?

"Um…are you okay?" Cilan asked. The man sighed. "Yeah. I've…I've got to get out of here to…to deliver some meat to the local Pokémon center." He said, and then ran through the door that was behind the counter. Ash looked at his friends. "Okay, that was weird." Iris said. Ash nodded. "He's hiding something, let's go after him." Ash said. Iris and Misty sighed. "Really? You're really going to go after him?" Iris asked, annoyed. Ash blinked in confusion. "What? You'd never know. Besides…something's off about him." Ash said. The girls sighed again and the gang walked around the counter and into the door. They enter a long hallway full of containers and bins of meat. Pikachu covered its eyes. "You know. I would have though you guys would have reacted more strongly to see meat like this." Ash said, since this was a lot more accurate to his dream. His friends frowned. "Ash, I'm a chief. I'm used to seeing meat uncooked. Although, it does sadden me that they were once Pokémon." Cilan said. Iris then looked at Axew. "Ash, I used to live with wild Pokémon, and while it was fun time, I did see the rare instance of dead Pokémon. It was gross, and it scared me every time it happened, but I eventually got used to it." Iris said. Ash turned to Misty who was holding her nose. "What about you, Misty? Why aren't you reacting strongly to this?" Ash asked. Misty looked down. "I…I know that hamburgers and such are made out of Pokémon meat, and that Pokémon can be made into food, but seeing it like this…It just feels wrong. But…I have to be strong. For you guys, because…I'm afraid that Eddie's near. I just feel his presence." She said. Ash held her arm. "Don't worry. It's okay. They had a happy life. They don't mind being food. Besides, I'm here. I won't let him get to you." Ash said as he tried to help her cope with the idea of Pokémon being food. However, that didn't help Misty feel better. She could still feel Edward's presence and it felt like it was getting closer. "Besides, Eddie is in that secret jail. He won't be getting out." Cilan added. They soon noticed that one of the doors was being held up by a bone. They walked to the door and enter a meat locker. It was full of dead Milktanks, Grumpigs, and Tauros. Misty was disgusted by this. The group soon saw a dairy on the floor in the middle of the room. "What the?" Ash said. Everyone was confused. They walked up to it. They noticed that it was opened to a couple of pages that had bits of blood on it, but the text was readable.

" _He's after me. He knows my sin. He's going to kill me. He has no mercy. Oh lord, I'm so sorry. I never meant to disgrace your name by doubting your words and being so vicious against my wife. I do not mean to doubt you nor to kill her. But can you really be trusted? Can you're paradise really be as good as my fellow brothers and sisters say it is? I'm sorry for my doubt, but I fear it's too late for me. He's going to kill me. The demon you say is our guardian. He's neither angel nor god. He's the real devil, not Arceus. That Xuchilbara. That Red monster. That goddamn boy! If he's our guardian angel, then our town is...He's here! He's at my door. I just have to play it cool. Maybe he'll ignore me. Maybe he'll spare me. But I doubt it. Oh lord, may he be genital on my soul. And I'm sorry for all my sins."_ The book said. Suddenly the electric lights flickered just as an agonized scream rent the air. It was a scream of absolute pain and horror that would scare anyone and anything on its own. Not to mention the thought of whatever CAUSED that scream. Everyone froze in fear. The scream stopped abruptly, followed by a silence that could be tasted. They looked at each other. "Wh-what was that?" Iris asked. Ash looked at her, fear in his eyes. "I…I don't know. But it doesn't sound good." Ash said. They nodded. "But…what's up with this book? It sounds like a confession. Why was it here anyways? And why did he think Eddie was after him?" Misty said. Ash holds her hand. "I don't know, but whatever Xuchilbara is, he's not good. Besides, we have to investigate that scream that came over there." Ash said as he pointed to the other side of the room. There was a darkened doorway framed with weathered wood, escaping the lights of the meat locker.

Suddenly another scream made it certain that was where the noises were coming from. The kids were so transfixed by the cry that they didn't hear the click of the door behind them, the bone disappearing, causing the door to close. There was dead silence with this scream since the gang didn't have a book to try and move their thoughts away from the scream. As if in a trance, the children crept towards the wooden doorway. Something compelled them to move forward, Ash in the lead. As they came closer, they could faintly make out a man's terrified whisperings. "God forgive me. God help me. Save me from that monster. I'll change my ways. I'll never kill again. Just please, please save me." The whispers said. Instinctively hugging the walls and not making a sound, the four trainers slunk through the doorway. The back room of the butcher's shop was barely lit, only a tiny electric lamp on a chain suspended from the ceiling. Anything that wasn't in the ray of light was almost invisible in the shadows. The four kids kept themselves as far away from the light as they possibly could. Tied to a metal rack and hanging helplessly upside down was the butcher. However, he had been reduced to a cowering whimpering cretin with tears in his wild eyes. He repeated hysterically, "I'm didn't mean to betray you god I'm sorry I'm sorry God please, please save me…" They soon noticed that there was someone behind the butcher. He couldn't be fully seen, only huge shifting shadow was visible. There was a swift movement… And a metal blade erupted through the man's chest. The hapless victim didn't even have time to scream. Blood spurted out of the wound like lava out of a volcano. The huge metal thing shifted, and even more blood poured out. The knife vanished behind the butcher and there was a metallic clang on the floor. It was all so sudden the children couldn't scream. They remained stocked still and dead silent. The shadow behind the dead man moved further out of the light Ash guessed he had turned around and was walking to the back of the room. Whoever this person was, he hadn't noticed the children hidden in the shadows. There was the sound of a powerful fist smashing into a wall, and an inhuman noise of sheer frustration. Then a slow, heavy breathing. Not the trainers…They hadn't dared to breath. **'Why…why aren't I happy now? I'm doing what I'm meant to do.'** A voice rang through Ash's head. It kind of sound like the guardian, but that was impossible, Edward was in prison, plus the voice was more collected and smooth than the guardian's.

Cilan's hands mechanically moved to his phone. His shaking fingers dialed 911 without him really noticing. The others were as still as statue and silent as graves. And then… " _Hello! You have reached Yoka village's police station. All of our officers are unavailable at the moment. Your call is important to us, please continue to hold."_ Officer Jenny's voice said. The shadow twitched which meant one thing, the murderer heard that. The shadow whirled around, swiftly shoved the corpse-laden rack aside like it was nothing, grabbed something from the floor, and stormed into the light. Ash's eyes shrank. The killer was in full view with the grate gone. He was colossal – at least three times the size of Iris, Misty, and Ash and about twice the size of Cilan. His muscles looked powerful enough to rip anything he wanted into shreds. And he had done so…his hands were caked with red-brown blood. He only wore a few items of clothing. A pale robe that covered his legs completely was held up by numerous belts around his waist. His skin had broken with red holes, he was very muscular and blocky, and he wore big black boots. But the most memorable- and the most chilling- aspect of the man was his helmet. It resembled a black three sided pyramid with two pieces of the sides having huge eye like gratings that were impossible to see past, it looked like a cast-iron torture device with a point at his chest. The bottom was nothing but darkness and metal. The giant man grabbed the hanging light bulb, pointing the ray at the wall where he had heard the noise. The terrified children were spotlighted like burglars. "Oh no." Iris said. They knew they weren't, but it was kind of hard not to feel like one when you have a giant light shine on you like this. The man in the pyramid helmet released the light. It swung for a moment, and the group saw what the man was carrying.

The blade that killed the butcher was almost as big as its carrier. It was certainly almost as big as a normal grown man. It was rusted and messy….as if the murder had slaughtered countless with it and never bothered to clean it. But it was still very sharp. The helmeted man took a giant step towards them dragging his nightmarish blade behind him. The fact snapped Ash out of his terror trace. "Pikachu, THUNDERBOLT!" Ash yelled. Pikachu didn't hesitate, firing a powerful bolt of electricity at the approaching killer. It hit dead-on…but for all it did it might as well have missed completely. He didn't react at all, and continued to lurch forward, his deadly weapon right behind him. Ash froze. 'No…no. It's like my dream…he's…he's unstoppable.' Ash thought. Cilan sent out his Pansage, "BULLET SEED!" The Monkey Pokémon took a deep breath and then spit out six bullet seeds. It hits him straight on, but didn't impede the man any more than a headwind. When Passage stopped to catch his breath; the monster was closer than before. Misty threw out a Pokeball. "Water gun!" She yelled. A Vaporeon appeared and shot the water at the man. When the water stopped, the man was now dripping wet, he had halted…with a fist clenched very tightly. Ash gulped. "I think…you just…insulted him." Ash squeaked. Sure enough, the 'man' let out a booming bellow of rage that echoed around the room. The group covered their ears, but didn't dare close their eyes. The murderer came towards them faster than before. The huge knife scraped against the floor, singing a deafening sound of death. Suddenly Cilan, being the most level-headed person in the group, came up with the most sensible solution. "RUN FOR IT!" The four children tore out of the back room, finally screaming in terror. Once back in the meat locker, they ran even faster towards the door that would get them to the hallway and away from the man in the pyramid helmet. Ash got there first. He grabbed the door and twisted it, but it didn't open. Ash frantically turned it the other way, praying inside that it would this time, but the door still rattled its lock, despite how much he pushed, pulled, and slammed. The scraping noise was approaching slowly. The kids decided to ram into the door at once, but it wouldn't budge. It was cast iron as well which meant that there was no chance of burning it or breaking it. They all slammed at it again. It remained secure. The blade's earsplitting song of death became a bit louder.

Everyone turned and then looked at each other. They had to hide, and quickly. They soon began to sneak into the few hiding areas that they knew were around. However, once in position, they couldn't help but gasp as the creature entered the room. The huge thing looked around; so far it didn't know where they were yet. The huge helmet slowly scanned the room from the doorway. Misty did her utmost not to whimper from where she was hiding. Pokémon attacks were useless against this juggernaut and they didn't know any of the hiding areas like it did. She and Iris were under a table where several sharpening implements laid, it seemed like the best cover for them at the time since there was a cloth of sorts draped over the table, but that didn't make this less nerve-racking. The room was quiet except for the creature…the pyramid headed monster….slowly breathing. He did nothing for a moment, as if contemplating whether hunting the four down would be worth the trouble of dragging his heavy blade around the room. He took a step into the room, and the floor creaked loudly under the weight. Ash, who was watching from behind a meat strip kind of like how the monster was behind the butcher, hoped that the floor would swallow that maniac up. After all, that monster was as much of an intruder as they were; hell even more so. And then he saw it. Hanging from Pyramid Head's belt was a black, iron key. 'He probably stole that from the butcher.' Ash thought, as the helmet man turned, and then adjusted a gear-like mechanism on the handle of his huge blade. There was a loud squeaking noise, like claws on a chalkboard, before something went click. Ash looked between the pieces of meat to see what caused the noise. From its knife, the huge man drew a long, thick rod of sharp metal. Once it had been fully removed, the bulky blade crashed onto the floor loudly. The monster carefully checked the tip of the rod. Ash froze. With the blade gone, it looked like a spear. Ash soon remembered the painting he saw. 'It's him.' Ash thought as he connected the dots. He was just angry with himself that he didn't read the plaque under the painting. 'But…didn't he look different in the painting?' Ash thought, now more confused than scared. Ash looked back on the spear. It had been hidden in the great knife and was a fraction of its size, but it was just as long, just as rusty, just as bloody, and just as sharp. Ash soon realized something. Now it was a lot lighter too.

Pyramid Head turned it over in his huge hand before stepping into the room fully. Without the heavy iron thing to impede him, he moved a lot faster, walking calmly around the room like a normal person. Searching the meat locker like a hound on the trail of convicts, Pyramid Head stalked around the hanging meat. Every step creaked under his bulk. Suddenly he whirled around with his spear, and a Milktank corpse was sliced in two. The lower half fell with a sickening SPLAT. There was nothing behind. The hunter snorted and kept looking. Misty shook all over. She couldn't see anything, but she and Iris could hear a creak….creak…Creak….CREAK….. Misty stifled a horrified gasp. He was closing in on her and Iris! The man in the helmet knew there were only so many places to in the locker, and they only found three of them. He also knew how effective fear was at driving people out. Axew popped out of Iris's hair and began to cry. Iris got the Pokémon out of her hair and began to hold it and cover its mouth, but that wasn't helping. Pyramid Head picked up the cloth. He was about to uncover them, when another noise distracted him. _"Hello! You have reached Yoka Village's police station. Your call is important to us, please continue to hold."_ In a millisecond the hunter was away from the girls and the table, and was upon the group of Tauros sacks that the noise came from. Dropping his spear for a moment, he grabbed the closest meat sack and tore it in two. A phone playing hold music was on the floor. Iris sighed. Misty was concern for Cilan. Puzzled, Pyramid Head picked up the device, not seeing the owner. The phone looked comically tiny in his colossal hand. Cilan had moved behind another meat sack. In a desperate move, he had placed the phone there to distract the murderer. As quickly and as quietly as possible, he crept up to the kneeling man. Cilan gently lifted the key ring from Pyramid Head's belt… When his hand was swiftly grabbed. Cilan gasped in horror as the murderer's helmet lifted up to look at what he had caught. _"Yoka Police Station. Hello? Hello…?"_ The phone was reduced to a crushed mess of plastic. His other fist tightened around Cilan's wrist as he took up his spear. Standing upright again, Pyramid Head carried Cilan high above the floor. The boy whimpered in helpless panic as the huge man pointed his spear right at him…

 _Thunk Thunk CLANG!_

Three poorly thrown meat hooks hit Pyramid Head's back, one of them clattering against his helmet. The killer begrudgingly turned to face his attacker. Ash had abandoned his hiding place when he saw Cilan being threaten. "Let him GO!" He screamed as he raised another hook. Pyramid Head paused, then turned to see the boy properly. Cilan and the spear were still clutched in his hands. Neither of them moved for a minute, staring at each other. The huge man lost any and all interest in Cilan, letting him fall to the floor. The boy caught his breath and realized the key was still in his hand. Ash couldn't understand why the monster was just staring at him like that. Pikachu took a defensive stance in front of his master, sparking threateningly. The huge man didn't appear to notice, his attention focused on Ash. Then Pyramid Head charged. Pikachu fired a thunderbolt at the man, but it did nothing. The mouse was kicked aside and in a blink of an eye, Ash had been grabbed by the collar and brought up to the monster's helmet. "PUT ME DOWN!" Ash demanded, kicking at the huge man futilely. This was just like his nightmare. Pyramid Head didn't seem to notice, shifting his huge helmet as if to get a better look at the struggling boy. Then a bloody hand grabbed Ash's cap off his head. "THAT'S MINE YOU MONSTER!" Ash kicked more as the helmet came up, the point nearly touching his nose. Then both of them noticed the floor was on fire. The section of wood Pyramid Head was standing on had been set ablaze by blue fire. Strangely enough, the huge man didn't panic or try to run. Ash could see Axew using Dragon breath. Suddenly Ash felt himself being ripped from Pyramid Head's grasp. He hit the floor next to his friends. Cilan was rattling the key inside the lock, Axew next to him. Ash didn't know how he got how he got away from the monster and frankly, he didn't care. Ash looked behind him and saw Iris and Misty behind him. Misty hurriedly brought him to his feet as his Pikachu rushed to his master. The lock clicked open, the most beautiful sound they had ever heard. "COME ON!" Cilan screamed as he bolted out the door. Misty and Iris didn't need a second bidding, but Ash chanced a glance back. Pyramid Head hadn't moved. The ring of fire illuminated the terrifying figure, giving him the appearance of a demon at the gates of hell. The helmeted man simply stared right back at Ash, his bloody hand clutching the boy's cap. Then the floor under him gave way, and he vanished into the hole. Ash turned and ran out of the butcher's shop.

(Meanwhile.)

Edward groaned as he woke up. He held his head. "Ugh….what…happened? Misty…Iris…Cilan…Tracy? What…" Edward said then noticed he was in a large metal cage. Hyde sat up and looked around in fear. He was in a strange place. It looked like a church with an altar at the other end of the room and in the middle of the room was a table. Edward let go of his head and grabbed the bars. "Hey! What's going on!? Who put me in this cage!? Pikachu, Misty, Iris, Cilan, Tracy, where are you?!" Edward yelled. He looked at his belt, but he was wearing a strange apron like what Pyramid Head was wearing. "Wh-what the?" Edward muttered then looked at the bars. He growled, got onto his feet, and then barged at the bars using his left shoulder. He hit it, but he soon grunt in pain. Edward looked at the bars, they hadn't moved an inch. Edward growled. He really didn't like what was going on. Suddenly he heard a voice echo. **'Why…why aren't I happy now? I'm doing what I'm meant to do.'** Edward was scared by this strange voice. "Wh-who's there? If you can hear me, pl-please answer me!" Edward yelled. However there was no response. Edward held himself. 'Wh-what's going on with me? First Eddie, then the nightmares, now this! When will this madness end!?' Edward asked himself, however something was defiantly wrong with him. Suddenly he heard more voices. "Miss Rose, I know this is sudden, but…why didn't you inform me or Mr. Perlis about Edward stealing the butcher's stuff?" Tobias's voice asked. Edward looked over to the door to this room. The voice was coming from that area. Edward smiled. 'Yes! Tobias is here! He's going to save me! But…when did that happen? Ugh, probably when I got captured. I bet it's this Miss Rose's fault.' Edward thought.

"Because it wasn't really Edward, it was Ash. And if I told him that, he would connect the dots and found out that Ash IS Edward. I cannot afford for him to find out. His plans don't seem to deal with the Order anymore, nor does it have to do with finding Alessa." Rose said. Edward froze. 'N-no…that…that has to be a lie! I'm not Edward! I'm ASH KETCHUM! I'M ASH! I AM NOT A MONSTER!' Edward thought, scared out of his wits. He wasn't sure what 'the Order' was but he was in too much denial to really think about it. Hyde could heard Tobias gasp. "So Ash IS Edward like you told us! Well, at least now I understand why you lied to us. I no longer trust Perlis either. However, that's not the 'REAL' reason I'm here. I just said that to find some closer on the tape James showed me…but now that I know that, why DID the video show Edward instead of Ash?" Tobias asked. Rose sighed. "Because the boy is in denial. He could never see himself as a murderer or a thief, so he changed the identity to his manifestation. After all, the 'evil' Mr. Hyde would be much easier to blame for a crime than poor, sweet little Ash." She said. Edward growled. 'No! She's lying! I'm not a monster! I'm not a thief! I'm ASH! MAKE HER STOP!' Edward yelled inside. "Huh, I didn't know video manipulation was one of Xuchilbara's powers." Tobias said. The woman chuckled. "If it's physical, Xuchilbara can change anything to fit the truth. After all, despite having different morals, Ash and Edward are practically the same person." Rose said. Edward couldn't take it anymore. He let out a monstrous roar. After a few seconds, he stopped and covered his mouth. 'Wh-what's wrong with me? What was that thing I just let out?' Edward thought, scared. "Wh-what was that?" Tobias asked. Edward heard something getting moved. "It's Edward. He's awake, and he doesn't seem pleased. I…have to talk to him…alone." Rose said. Edward moved away from the bars. "No…no…I'm not Edward…I'm not." Edward said, his voice now sounding like Ash's. Edward could feel tears in his eyes. "What!? No! I'm not letting you go in alone with him! Besides, I still need answers! Like who attacked Perlis! It couldn't had been Ash nor Edward, so there has to be a third person…someone who's playing this game and manipulating things besides us. Someone who wants Perlis dead." Tobias said. Rose sighed. "I…I have an idea who it might be…but…I didn't think he was able to escape. I thought only one manifestation could be created right now, but…it looks like the boy's getting more powerful." Rose said.

"Who is this person!?" Tobias asked. Edward was becoming terrified. 'No…not Satoshi…please…please let it not be him. I can't deal with that mad man's want to concur the world alongside Edward.' Edward though. "It was a spirit I met in the boy, he called himself the King of Pokelantis. Whether he is the accursed king or not is not important. He is the only person who could be the culprit. I do not know WHY he's doing this, but it doesn't matter, he's in the way. We need to stop him." Rose said. Edward froze in fear. After a few seconds, Edward could hear footsteps walking towards him. After a minute or so, it stopped and the door opened revealing Rose and Tobias. The two walked over to the cage. Hyde scooched back as far he could. He was so scared now, he couldn't think properly. Tobias and Rose kneeled down. They soon saw Edward's scared face. "It seems like you over heard us, Edward. So what do you know of this king?" Tobias asked. Edward growled. "Nothing that you should know! And stop calling me Edward, it's me, ASH! I'M NOT EDWARD! I NEVER WAS! I'M NOT A MONSTER! NOW GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Edward yelled. Tobias and Rose were shocked to hear this. "Ash! How? How is your mind active now? I just saw you a few minutes ago with your friends, and you were fine." Tobias asked, confused. Edward growled. "LIAR! YOU MUST'VE KNOCKED ME OUT OR SOMETHING AFTER THE TOURNAMENT! I…I remember you hunting me…with…with those mysterious people. That's when you attacked! It must've been the time you knocked me out and put me in this blasted cage!" Edward yelled. Edward soon began to cry. "Why? I…I thought we were friends. I…I thought you cared about me… I thought you wanted me to be happy… I…I thought you actually liked me…" Edward said as he held himself. Tobias sighed as he pulled out a mirror from a pocket. "The thing is…I do like you Ash. It's just…" Tobias said then flashed the mirror at Edward. Edward gasped as he saw his reflection. "You're not Ash right now. You're Edward." Tobias finished. Edward looked at his hands. He soon saw blood all over them. He then looked the mirror and noticed the bits of blonde hair around his eyes. "No…" Edward said as his eyes shrank. "No…this…this can't be true…this…this is a bad dream…I'm…I'M NOT EDWARD! I'M ASH! I'M ASH!" Edward closed his eyes.

Suddenly the memories of Edward Hyde rushed through his mind. He remembered his creation, Henry's motives for creating him, the pain he felt whenever he and Henry argued, the uncontrollable rage, and every murder he had committed. Edward's eyes snapped open. "No...NO! Stop it! Stop putting fake memories into my mind!" Edward yelled. Rose sighed. "Edward, we cannot do that. Nobody does. Those memories are real." Rose said. Edward growled as he felt his body shift. "NO! YOU'RE LYING! YOU HAVE TO! I'M NOT A MONSTER! I'M NOT EDWARD! I'M...I'M!" Edward yelled, but soon all he could see was the white mist. Edward roared in rage and slammed his body against the bars. He then backed off and then rammed into the bars again. Rose turned to Tobias. "Don't just sit there, do something! He's going to escape!" Rose yelled. Tobias sighed as he snapped his fingers. Suddenly Darkrai popped out of the shadows and formed Dark void in his hands. He then launched it at Edward. Edward screamed in pain and then fell to the ground as he fell asleep. Tobias turned to Darkrai. "Thanks Darkrai." He said. Darkrai just nodded. Rose sighed. "Still, you need to go to Ash. Whatever's happening to him, it's not good." Rose said. Tobias wasn't pleased by this. "Alright. Keep an eye out on Edward. He's more dangerous than ever thanks to Ash's delusional mind." Tobias said. Rose nodded. Tobias and Darkrai then left the room. Once they were far enough away, Tobias sighed. "Things are not going as planned. If things like this keep happening, this town will be consumed by Ash's madness. We need to hurry, before he loses all sense and logic." Tobias said. Darkrai floated behind Tobias as they 'walked' through the hallway that connected the altar to Miss Rose's room. "And before Edward kills you. But... I...I think we should abandon the plan and this town. It's getting too dangerous. The boy can't be converted. Let's just leave before something like that happens." Darkrai said. Tobias stopped causing Darkrai to stop. "And what? Give up all this work? Give up on Ash? He trusts us. We can't leave him like this!" Tobias yelled. Darkrai chuckled. "So you're actually getting attached to the boy? I thought he was just 'an instrument to create Dark'. I didn't think you'd actually care about him." Darkrai said. Tobias looked away. "N-no. I do not care about the boy, I only said that because of Dark. If Ash become this 'Xuchilbara' creature, Dark will never be formed. I cannot give up on our lord. He needs us more than ever." Tobias said. Darkrai sighed. "But he can't be saved. We've wasted too much time. The boy is doomed to become this Xuchilbara. I had the chance by the boy could not accept my advice. The only thing we can do is run." Darkrai said. Tobias glared at Darkrai. "Fine. If you see it that way..." Tobias said as he pulled out Darkrai's Pokeball, "then you leave me with no choice but to make an ultamadium. If you do not obey to my commands, you will be released." Darkrai's eyes widen. "But if you do that, then our friendship will end! I could be captured by someone who cares nothing for me. All that time we've had together will be for not! I...I don't want that to happen!" Darkrai said in fear. Tobias scowled. "Then follow my orders. We WILL save Dark! Now no more doubts from you!" Tobias coldly said. Darkrai sighed. "Yes...my master." Darkrai said. Tobias smiled and returned Darkrai to his Pokeball. Tobias soon walked off to find Ash, where ever he was now.


	11. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

 **Hey, it's aura. Sorry that I'm reuploading this, but there were a few mistakes I needed to fix. Hopefully I got them all.**

When the gang finally reached the police station, the four children were gasping for breath more than they were breathing. It took Ash almost a half-hour, but he managed to gasp out the story as coherently as he could to the officer. The group was shuttled into a back room for further questions and given some water and hot chocolate to calm them down. It didn't work very well. "My god my god my god my god…" Misty kept babbling, her drink spilling in her shanking hand. Axew was crying while Iris held him, blankly staring off into the distance. Cilan breathed in deeply and tried to stay the most sensible and positive of the group. "W-well, we g-got out alright….th-that's important, right?" Cilan said, but no one wanted to reply back. Ash was silent, occasionally touching his capless head. His last view of…that monster kept playing in front of his eyes. Fire at his feet, spear in hand, his helmet looking straight at him, hidden eyes boring into his skull…Suddenly his concentration was broken by Tobias and Tracy walking into the room. Tracy rushes over to his friends, very worried. "ASH, MISTY, CILAN, IRIS!" He yelled, concerned as he ran towards them. Meanwhile, Tobias stood at the door. Trip hugs Ash. "Oh, I was so worried about you guys. I'm sorry for being sick." Tracy said. Ash slightly smiled. At least there was someone in this town who cared about his wellbeing. "Hello Ash, I heard that the Butcher's shop was burned to the ground. What happened?" The man asked. Four blank stares answered them. After an experience like that, Tobias cold manner and nonchalant question felt like a slap to the face. The man regretted opening his mouth. "I'm sorry. It must have been something bad if you're all traumatized like this." He said. Tracy nodded. "Yeah, when I heard that you were at the police station, I had rushed over here…unfortunately, I'm still not feeling the greatest." Trip said a bit embarrassed as he stands in front of his friends. Ash regained his composure first. After apologizing for their reaction, he explained what had happen in the butcher shop. Officer Jenny was close by and shivered as the boy described the murderer who had nearly killed Cilan and himself. Tobias and Tracy blinked for a few seconds. "Whoa….That's insane." Tobias said, showing some actual emotions. Misty sighed. "You have no idea, you never saw him…it …whatever!" Misty stammered. Ash shook his head clear. "It was the same guy who attacked Perlis, I know it! Nngh…'bad vibes'." He then snarled, "Eddie, nightmares, a beheaded statue complete with blood, a guy killed by a sword and the evidence covered up in a fire, and now this Pyramid Head! This town is insane!"

Tracy was taken aback by his friend's anger. "I don't wanna stay another day here, Ash!" Misty proclaimed, "If I stay any longer I'm going to go crazy. Let's get outta her, forget the tourn…." Just then a male cop walked in. Soot was on his clothes and a troubled expression was on his face. Cilan looked at him. "Did you get him, officer?" Cilan asked. The officer gulped. "We…saw someone matching your description in the window when we arrived, but…" The man began to say. Ash growled. "BUT!?" Ash yelled. He tried to run towards the man, but Tracy touched his shoulders. Ash looked at Tracy and sighed. "The entire place was in flames. Like Markham's house. Only more so…the firefighters don't think anyone in the shop would've survived." The officer said. Iris looked at Axew. "Wow, I wouldn't believe that my Axew's dragon breath could make a fire that fierce." She said in shock. The others nodded. Ash turned to Tobias. "Tobias, who do you think that man…that monster was?" Ash asked. Tobias sighed. "I don't know. But you should be happy, he's dead and long gone. He won't be hurting anyone ever again." The older man said. Ash smiled; however, something in his gut was telling him that things were still not over. Not by a long shot.

…

Ash shoved a dresser in front of the group's dorm room door. That only made him felt just a little safer. Sunderland's Butcher Shop had been leveled. The firefighters put out the blaze late in the night, but when the police investigated they only found meat that smelled like it had been barbequed and the bodies of the butcher. Not one metal headed giant in sight, no matter how thoroughly they looked. That was the absolute last straw. The possibility of Pyramid Head still alive and loose in the town…the kids were going to leave Yoka Village for good. Somehow Perlis got wind of the entire thing and tried to convince them to stay and Tobias tried to do that too…there was no way he could've survived the blaze. But they knew better. The police only did a quick search; they never even went into the basement. Perlis said that they should at least finish the tournament; the town desperately needed the revenue. But it was decided. They had enough. Unfortunately by the time the police released them, it was too dark to walk. Nights in Yoka Village were very black. What more, the bus station was closed. The kids had no alternative but to stay one more night in town. Ash had noticed this while they were walking back to the center. Tracy told them that he got sick before the ceremony so that's why he was with them. But Ash didn't care about anything at the moment as he reluctantly got into his bed. Thankfully the wounds Eddie gave him had fully healed. Ash sighs as he looked at his friends as they fall asleep. The police had promised; hand on heart, to guard the center and hotels where the trainers were staying. It did little to calm his fears. After their much delayed response in the butchers and the fact that Eddie escaped once, Ash's trust in the police here was dwindling. Ash looked at the windows. They had all been locked and the doors blocked, even the closet. How Ash managed to get to sleep, he'd never know.

…..

Ash laughed in joy as he lifted up a trophy with his name on it as he stood in the middle of the battle field. He had just been declared the world's greatest Pokémon master and was now beaming with pride. He at an undisclosed coliseum surrounded by cheering fans. "WE LOVE YOU ASH!" They yelled. Ash looked at his reflection in the shiny trophy. 'I did it! ME! I've finally done it! I've finally become a Pokémon Master! HAHAHAH! IT'S ALL MINE! MINE! NO MORE PEOPLE TESING ME! NO MORE CALLING ME NAMES! I'VE BECOME THE EMPOROR!' Ash thought, his smile becoming twisted and monstrous. He soon noticed someone in the reflection. He turned around and saw an unremarkable man with a beard and coat came up to him. "Dear master, come with me. You're needed." He said. Ash smiled. "Really? What for?" Ash asked. The man smiled. "Something important. Come." He said then turned around. Eager for whatever awaited him, Ash fallowed the man walk out of the stadium and then through a shining tunnel. They then walked through a set of thick iron doors and entered another stadium. However, instead of a blue sky, a blood red and ash black storm hovered over the area. Instead of the cheering human crowd, a packed motley of what could only be described as monstrosities were chanting a single word through whatever semblance of mouths they had, "DEATH!" And instead of another young trainer waiting for a battle, Pyramid Head, with his huge blade, was waiting in the center. Ash became terrified as he didn't want to go in. But when he turned to his guide, he wasn't an unremarkable man anymore. He had become a very remarkable monster, with hideously charred skin and a deep pit in his chest. He snarled hoarsely at Ash. The boy gasped and ran for the door, only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Ash pound at the wall, trying to escape this nightmare. However, five pale children like creatures without faces leapt on him and dragged the struggling trainer towards the executioner. The chant of the inhuman crowd grew louder, "DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!"

Ash covered his ears. 'No! NO! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING!' Ash thought, scared beyond all belief. Pyramid Head noticed this and then raised his hand. The crowd became dead silent. Ash was then brought to his knees before the man in the helmet. The faceless creatures forced the boy to look up at the monster. A bloodstained hand pointed straight at Ash, and a terrifying voice, deep and full of anger, spoke out of the helmet, **"Ash Ketchum, I sentence you to death for your crimes against Humanity and this town!"** Ash eyes widen. "C-crimes? WHAT CRIMES!? I…I have done anything!" Ash protested. He was confused and scared. He wasn't even sure what the monster was talking about. **"Oh but you have."** The voice took on a cajoling tone, as if he was chiding the wrongdoings of his child. Ash soon saw that the sky was full of dead bodies being held by rope. Ash was horrified by this, but soon body appeared in the middle of the group of bodies, however, he was being held by many wires and had color to him. Ash's eyes shrank as he realized that it was Satoshi who was being strung up. He was battered up and bleeding out of the mouth. **"You prevented justice from being carried out and let the man who started this mess to walk free, you murdered so many innocent people, and you've destroyed the sanity of this poor man you've toyed with ever since you were created. The town is damned because of you! It's fitting you be the one to pay after all, you are a monster. Hahaha."** The man laughed. Ash was about to protest when the faceless creatures forced his head down again. Ash tried to break free but the monsters' grips were too strong. "No…nononono. This…this isn't happening. I'm not a killer. I'm not the monster. It…It was Edward who did this! He was the one who hurt those people, not me!" Ash pleaded. The monsters growled as lifted the sword above his head. **"Pathetic. I can't believe you still believe that witch! You ARE a monster. YOU ARE A BEAST! A beast that dares to go against everything we stand for! You don't care about making justice and punishing the evil, you only want to do what YOU want! You never cared about ANYONE let alone the empress!"** Pyramid Head yelled. Ash was now breathing heavily as every part of him wanted to fight back. However, he could only helplessly stare at the wooden floor as the hug knife drew closer and closer. Only one thing could save him now. "WAIT!" Ash yelled out in a plea. The creature stopped. "I'll make it up. I promise. He'll die. I'll kill him myself. Just please, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'll do anything! Just please have mercy on me!" Ash yelled as he began to cry. The creature chuckled. **"I knew you'd beg. You're nothing but a weak, pathetic boy, crying out for love. You amuse me, monster."** Pyramid head said. Ash sniffled. "I...I don't want to die…I…I don't want to be Eddie…please…please…help me." Ash pleaded. The man growled.

" **It's too late for you. You cannot be freed from what you've become, monster. The only way to end your misery is to die and let me take control. You have already made too many mistakes."** The man said. Ash's eyes shrank. He was so scared of dying at this monster's hands. However, before the monster could readjust his weapon so he could properly behead the boy, some rushed in front of him. "No! Don't kill him! He's my friend!" A familiar voice yelled out. Ash blinked. He tried to move his head to look at the person, but the monsters were keeping him down. "Who…who are you?" Ash asked. Suddenly he heard the person's fingers snapped and the creatures that were holding him down let go. Pyramid growled as he shifted his sword to his side. Ash smiled at this as he stood up. "Thank you miss for everything. If it wasn't for you, I would have been dead." Ash said. The person who saved him turned to him with a big smile. To his surprise, it was Dawn. Oddly, she was wearing a blue school dress with a red ribbon. "No problem, Ash. I wasn't going to let this guy kill you." She said in her cheery tone. Ash quickly hugs her as he began to cry. "Oh Dawn, I'm so glad to see you! I... I was so scared. What are you even doing here? You…you're in danger from these monsters! You have get out of here! I'll deal with them!" Ash asked as fear took over. Dawn pouted. "Ash! I'm here to help you! I don't know what's going on, but I'm not going to let you do that!" Dawn yelled. Pyramid Head growled as he grabbed her arm. **"Empress, get a hold of yourself! This monster has betrayed us! He let the sinner live! He's too soft! I cannot let this stupid human live on to tarnish my legacy!"** Pyramid Head yelled, very angry. Ash was confused by this. "Wait? Empress? Dawn, what's going on? Why did he call you that?" Ash asked, very confused and scared. Dawn held her head. "I… I don't know, Ash. But...I feel odd right now." Dawn said in a colder voice, which confused Ash even more. Ash touched Dawn's face. "I don't know what's going either, but I promise to call you soon to check up on you. I…I'm scared of your safety." Ash said. Dawn smiled. "Of course, dear guardian. I wouldn't let you hurt yourself." Dawn said in her cold voice. Ash wanted to argue that he wasn't really the guardian and that it was actually Eddie, but he was distracted by her cold black eyes. They looked so emotionless and heartless despite her warm smile. It kind of creeped Ash out. This was obviously the real Dawn, but something about her felt…odd and unnatural. "Alessa..." Ash whispered out as he remembered the black hair girl. Somehow Dawn was reminding him of her. Dawn flinched in pain. Ash covered his mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that. Are…are you okay Dawn?" Ash asked, scared. Dawn straightened herself. "Y-yeah…that name though…It sounds familiar… but… I don't know where it came from or why it's gave me that pain." Dawn said, equally confused. Ash sighed and then smiled. "Don't worry Dawn, I'll make sure to protect you. If this Alessa person is a bad person, I won't let her get near you." Ash said. Pyramid Head chuckled. **"So you say…"** He said. Ash growls. He was getting annoyed by the man's talk. Suddenly they heard an odd noise from above. Ash looks up, however, there was nothing there but stormy clouds. Oddly the corpses and Satoshi had disappeared. "What's that?" Ash asked as Dawn looked up too. Dawn tilted his head. "Ash, what are you talk about? I don't hear anything." Dawn said. Ash sighed as he looked at Dawn. "I…don't know. I think I hear a voice…maybe someone's trying to wake me up. I have no idea how long we've been asleep." Ash said. Dawn nodded. "Must be since I can't hear it. Weird." Dawn said. Ash nodded. He never had a shared dream before so he didn't know how they worked. Ash suddenly he noticed a red glow beneath them. Ash looked down and saw a strange circle symbol had replaced the center of the arena where the Pokeball symbol should be. Dawn was in the circle as well, which caused Ash to freak out. He pushed her out of the circle, but when he tried to escape himself, his body was repelled by an invisible wall. Ash grunted as he gets up and rubbed his head. 'Ugh…Well that hurt.' He thought. He soon noticed Dawn's distressed look. She rushed to circle, but she too was repelled by the invisible wall. The monster catch her, and then looked at the circle. He growled. Ash looked at the circle again, and now that he was standing, he could clearly see what the circle was fully like. It had a hoop like ring with three inner circles, had a lot of weird symbols and scribbles all over, and there was an eye near his feet. The group soon heard a faint chanting, but it wasn't coming from the monsters. **"It seems like the second ritual has begun. I was hoping those idiots wouldn't go through with this, but after what that witch did to us, I guess I couldn't be stopped it."** Pyramid Head said. Suddenly the monster felt electricity coursing through his body. He screamed in pain. Suddenly Ash heard the chanting becoming clearer. He soon recognized the chat. It was the chant he heard when he first arrived in this town. It sounded like an alien langue or something. Ash screamed some more as the pain increased. He soon sees a large triangle thing coming towards him. It then launched itself into his chest and he screamed a horrible, monstrous scream.

…

Ash's eyes shot open. He was staring at the ceiling of the room, his fingers white from clutching his sheets. Another nightmare. He was in the middle of a silent thanksgiving prayer when it registered exactly what had woken him up. A vicious scraping and distorted snarling at the door. Horrific dogs barking just outside of his room. Ash looked at Cilan who was in the bed underneath and Iris were still fast asleep. Ash pulled the sheets closer to his shivering body. He was just hallucinating. That's all. That's why they couldn't hear it…right? He soon heard a painful scream. It sounded like his own. But he wasn't screaming…was he? He could hear strange music in his head. Another scream was heard, this time more painful. Ash held his body, it was aching in pain. "The world has gone insane, and parasites are eating at my brain. And nothing is the way it was before. A pack of wolves is howling at my door. I'm living in a nest of nightmare dead man dreams. Filled with screaming pain~! Turning me to MAD extremes in A WORLD. THAT'S. GONE. IN SAAANE!" Satoshi's voice sang, his spirit possessing Ash's body again. It was now getting harder for him to breath, like he was trapped underwater. He looked at his friends. Why weren't they waking up? This was pretty loud singing. "The world has lost its head. And every EVIL HOUR is filled with dread! I'm floating in a lake, but UPSIDE DOWN! And when I try to breath, I start to drown. I cannot speak of nameless ghosts and faceless ghouls, let me join THE DEAD! NO ONE TELLS THESE GROUSOME FOULS THAT THE WORLD. HAS. LOST. ITS. HEAD~! Findus creatures crawl from their graves to taunt me. Old friends risen from the dead to haunt me~! God forsaken images that **DUANT ME**! Drowning in an endless blood of BLOOD~!" Satoshi screamed, his voice became more panicked and scared the more he sang. A part of it even sounded like a monster. Ash held his chest as the pain increased. Was Satoshi really feeling that way? Was he actually wishing for death?

Ash held his head. 'No. No. We don't want that. I begged that monster for the opposite!' Ash thought, very confused. "The world has lost its mind! And everywhere I turn I fear I'll find! Some nightmare even worse than those I see. Satanic demons closing in on me. How can it be that even though they see my plight everyone IS BLIND~! Night is Day! And Day is Night in a world that LOST. IT'S. MIND~! The world has gone berserk! And hiding in the murk, NEW monsters lurk! I see a sea of SNAKES along the floor. I see their evil **GRINNING AT MY DOOR!** I scream in silence! 'BAD IS GOOD AND GOOD IS BAD'! SAVOR IS PROFANE! CAN IT BE WISER TO BE MAD~!? **In a world that's gone insane."** Satoshi sang as Ash became more scared. The rough, monstrous voice coming more often. Ash soon realized who the voice belonged to as the song ends. It was Pyramid Head's voice. The voice soon repeated the words. **"The world has gone insane."** Over and over. Ash held his head. Ash muttered to himself as his body struggled to go back to sleep and ignore Pyramid Head's voice. "Bad vibes. Bad vibes. Bad vibes…" Ash soon fell asleep.

…

The morning finally came, but heavy clouds were suffocating the sunlight, casting the once bright town into shadow. Not that anybody cared anymore. Despite the mayor's protests and pleas, the populace of tourists has had enough of horrific nightmares, the threats by Eddie, grisly occurrences and dark rumors. Now that the tournament was canceled because of the monster attack, there was a mass exodus to leaving Yoka Village behind. Ash sighed as he and the gang walked out of the Pokémon center with their Pokemon in hand. Ash had already called up Dawn before they learned the tournament was canceled, and she was fine. She didn't remember much about their shared dream other than Ash being trapped in a strange circle and the strange device that implanted itself into him. Ash sighed again as he tried to figure out the dream. Was Pyramid Head real? What was that device? Was it another 'ritual' like Pyramid Head said? Why? Ash wasn't the guardian. Maybe Pyramid Head was an extension of Edward, so why wasn't he stuck in the circle? Misty noticed the boy's headache. The group were about half way down the street when Misty noticed this. "Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked. Ash looked at his friends, they were very worried. "I…don't know. I…I have a feeling that Perlis is a bad guy and that Pyramid Head only hunted us because I stopped him from killing Perlis…but…a part of me wants to kill Perlis. Maybe it's Edward's influence over me. I… I thought it was long gone by now, but… maybe he's right. I… I remember Perlis' voice calling me when I went out of control a few days back and whenever I was having those attacks. I…I think he's behind this. I… just don't have proof to stop him yet." Ash rambled as they walked. His friends thought about it. It seemed possible since Perlis was a shady guy, however they knew something was wrong with Ash. Iris sighed. "Ash, Perlis is the mayor. Unless you have proof that he's a bad guy like you say he is, the police won't believe you." Iris said. Ash suddenly stopped in rage. The gang stopped with him.

"The police are useless, Iris! They've showed this time and time again! They failed to capture Edward multiple times, I was KIDNAPPED by that madman before they got him, I knocked out a large chunk of the police when I was enraged, then Eddie escaped and killed Markham, and NOW THERE'S ANOTHER MONSTER ON THE LOSE! THE ONLY WAY TO STOP PERLIS IS FOR ME TO KILL HIM MYSELF!" Ash roared, a deranged look in his eyes. The gang gasped in shock. "Ash, this isn't you. It's the monster. While the police are useless, Iris' point still stands. You don't know if he's really a bad guy or not. The monster is just saying he is to ease your conscious so you can kill him. Please…listen to us." Misty said, scared. Ash began breathing heavily. 'They don't care. They never did. Why else would they ignore my pleas for help? Why else would they say I'm a monster?' Ash's mind said. Ash held his head, conflicted on what to do. 'No… my…my friends do care… I…I'm just scared that's all. They don't know I'm in pain because I'm refusing to let them know…' Ash thought. Ash soon grabbed Misty's wrist. "I… I'm scared… Perlis… he… he and Rose messed me up somehow. I know it... We…we need to stop them." Ash said. Misty looked into Ash's eyes. She knew he was telling the truth. Pikachu agreed. Ash had been acting strange lately. Misty sighed. "So…what are we going to do then?" Misty asked. Ash was shocked to hear this. "I…I don't know. The monster…he wants to kill Perlis and Rose. But obvious we don't want to do that…but…I don't know what else to do." Ash said as he looked down. The gang sighed. "Why don't we get our tickets first? After all, once Perlis and Rose are gone, we'll be leaving this bizarre town." Cilan said. The others smiled and agreed. Iris soon remembered something. "Oh yeah! Each bus ticket will be 4500 'p's. Let's make sure we have enough money." Iris said. The gang was shocked to hear this. "4500 'p's! That's ridiculous!" Misty yelled. Iris sighed. "Well, we can't use the free tickets we got for the tournament anymore since the tournament is canceled." Iris said. Ash growled. "That's bullcrap! They should still be useable! They're supposed to be for a round trip!" Ash yelled in rage. Cilan sighed.

"Sorry Ash, but Nurse Joy confirmed to me that our tickets are worthless now. Nothing like this has happened before, so they had never planned for this." Cilan said. Ash grumbled. The others pulled out their wallets, however Ash was having no luck searching his jacket and pants pockets. Ash removed his backpack and began searching there. However he couldn't find it. Ash became scared. Ash hastily checked his pockets again and then the backpack. "Wh-where did my wallet go?" Ash asked, scared as hell. The gang groaned. The gang checked their wallets to see if they had extra money. They had enough for themselves and maybe a snake, but not enough for Ash. Iris pouted. "Ash, you've got to be more careful! You can't lose your wallet at a time like this!" Iris yelled. The others nodded. Ash groaned as he face palmed himself. "Ash, where was the last place you saw it?" Tracy asked. Ash began to think. His eyes sharpened when he realized the spot. "Ugh! It's back in the center! Well, while I get it, why don't you go get the tickets?" Ash asked. The gang groaned. "Fine, but once you're done, we'll meet at the police station. We'll talk to Edward and find out if he knows anything." Misty said. Ash nodded and then ran off. The gang sighed and then walked to the bus station.

(Meanwhile.)

Jessie sighed as she and her group walked along the empty streets. They've been Perlis contacts for a lot of things like the fire at the Butcher's, where the little rascal of Eddie was after the first escape, and where he was after his second escape. They had no clue as to who the man was or why he was so important, but Perlis ordered them not to question him. He also told them a lot about how they were going to make a powerful ally out of Eddie. Oddly, he said that he had a 'better' idea on how to use the boy. Not to mention something strange happened last night with Edward. But assured them that it was okay and that they had gained a new tool to use against the twerps. "Ugh. That Perlis is such a jerk. Bossing us around, making sure that we get all of items they need for some ritual, and yet he hasn't given us anything. Not ONE new item or robot or ANYTHING to prove us that working with him was a good idea. All he gave us is this stupid white flower that we're apparently supposed to use as sleep powder." Jessie said as she held a bag that was once a bag of white flowers, but was now a bag of white powder. "Should we use it? I don't trust that Perlis guy anymore and the people who use it on themselves look terrible," James asked. Jessie sighed. "I don't know. I don't want anyone to end up like those cult people. UGH! Why would Perlis even make us work with those freaks? Nothing they've said makes sense and our goal of capturing everyone's Pokémon has been delayed because them! Now there's only haft of the trainers left in town and the tournament has been canceled. At this rate, there won't be anyone left in this town." Jessie said, very angry. Meowth nodded. "Yeah, and we hardly got any chance to get Pikachu. If we don't do something soon, they'll leave town for good." Meowth said. They heard about the group's plan from Perlis, and they were so miffed about that. They soon saw someone in an ally. He looked big, had long jet black hair, and wore a butcher's outfit. Everything else was shrouded in shadow. "Hey, aren't you the butcher? Didn't you die by some monster?" James asked, very confused and shocked. The man shocked his head. **"No. I'm not the same butcher from the shop. I'm a trainer of sorts. These are just my regular clothes."** Hesaid. Jessie and James pulled out their Pokeballs. "Ah, a trainer. This is our chance to finally get some Pokémon." Jessie said. The man lifted up a hand. It was covered in dry brown-red blood. **"Wait."** He said. This confused them. He soon smiled.

 **"I have a better idea in mind. Let's make a deal."** He said. They looked at him in silence and confusion. "You want to make a deal with Team Rocket?" James asked. The man nodded. "Well, you've better give us stuff. Our last coordinator didn't give his part of the bargain." Jessie said, very miffed. The man smiled. **"Oh. I plan on making that son of a bitch pay. It's part of my plan. But… something unexpected has happened in my plan and I need your help. A boy is going to be sacrificed at the local church in about 20 or 25 minutes depending on how long the church leader brags about their god. I want you to get him out of there before she tries to 'kill' him with an iron rod. I don't have the…attention grabbing aspects of your group, nor the agility to quickly escape with the boy. You can use that powder of yours to distract the Order's younger members and regular smoke bombs for the others."** The man said. Jessie gave a look of suspicion on the man. "Why should we trust you or believe you?" She asked. He smiled. **"I'll give you all of the boy's and his friends' Pokémon and make the boy your servant. Deal?"** The man said. The group of thieves smiled. "DEAL!" They yelled as one. The man chuckled. **"Oh, and here."** The man said as he pulled out a red book. The group smiled as they grabbed the book. The book had the same symbol as the Cult's symbol. **"In it is a spell to control Xuchilbara. Now GO!"** The man yelled. They nodded and ran off. The man chuckles. " **Let's see how you can face your demons, young one."** The man said.

…

Ash bolted to the Pokémon center, explained the problem to Nurse Joy, and then the boy ran towards his room. How could he be so stupid? He must've really been in a rush to leave. He probably left his cap there as well…Ash shocked his head. No, he lost his cap at the butcher's. That monster took it… That thought made him run through the Pokémon center's corridors and up the center's stairs even faster. At last, he got to his room. Right above several claw marks was a sign reading 'Room being serviced'. Claw marks? Ash stopped and looked at the torn-at marks on the door. They were deep and copious. So he hadn't imagined it, a dog HAD been there last night, well one or more, with very sharp claws…but how come Cilan and Iris didn't hear them or the singing? Ash pushed the thought out of his mind as he turned his key in the doorknob and barged into the room. "Excuse m-WHOOPS!" Ash said. The boy did a double-take. A maid wearing a black uniform was dusting the room, her back turned to Ash. She wore her skirt in such a way and was bending over in such a manner that the first thing the boy saw was a rather uninterrupted view of her underwear. She had long blue hair in the same style as Dawn's, but that detail wasn't all that important at the moment. Ash's hand darted to his eyes as he blushed deeply. "Um…s-sorry, I left my wallet in here…I just need to grab it real quick, ma'am." Ash said as quickly as possible. Pikachu was blushing harshly. The rodent couldn't believe their luck. Ash chanced a peek through his fingers. To his relief, the maid had moved and was taking a tiny black thing off the top of the dresser. Ash didn't think he would have left it there, but it was definitely his wallet. The maid handed it to Ash without a word. "Thanks, I just…Dawn?" Ash said, surprised as he looked at her face. It was almost a complete duplicate of his friend's, although she was much older looking than her and her eyes were a deeper shade of blue. The woman chuckled.

"Dawn? I'm sorry but that's not my name. Is that someone you know?" She asked as she handed him his wallet. Ash nodded. "Yeah! So um…who are you?" Ash asked as he received his wallet. She smiled. "I'm Miss Rose Gillespie. The woman who freed you of Edward." She introduced herself. Ash was shocked to hear this. "M-Miss Gillespie!? But…but why are you here and…*gulps* why are you in that outfit?" Ash asked in the most polite way as he blushed deeply. She smiled nodded. "What's, matter Ash, does this outfit not please you? I was expecting you to show at least a little gratitude." She asked. Ash blushed. "No…it's f-fine. But…Y-you still haven't explained yourself. Why are you here dressed like…like that?" Ash asked. Rose chuckled as she touched Ash's face with her free hand. "Don't worry Guardian, you'll soon remember your true self and discard this silly human identity. Besides, you're too good for us humans." The woman said. Ash took a step back. "I'm sorry miss, but you're not making any sense? I'm not the guardian. Edward is. You said so yourself. And…and what do you mean my 'true self'? There's only one me!" Ash said. He was very confused and scared. Rose smiled as she dropped her duster and grabbed the boy's hand. "Don't worry, guardian, you don't have to worry about my lie anymore. You don't have to pretend that you and Edward are separate beings anymore. We're not going to harm you like Perlis has and your madness has subsided. Now let's get you back to the church. Then your role will finally begin." Rose said. Ash growled. "NO! I'm NOT going! I…I'm NOT letting you hurt the empress again!" Ash yelled. He covered his mouth as the last part slipped out. He felt so embarrassed for saying that. The whole empress idea was so strange and bizarre that he expected her to laugh or something. He wasn't even sure why he said that. She was obviously mad or something. There was no way HE and Edward were the same person.

Pikachu sparked his checks. Rose smiled. "Guardian, I know your scared. If you really don't want to become your true self, then I could stop it. However, you have to answer me this…who has Alessa become?" She asked. Ash became angry, although inside he wasn't sure why or what he was even talking about. "No way! I'm not telling you! She…she's not ready. I'm not ready to yet! Just…JUST LEAVE US ALONE!" Ash yelled, not sure what he was saying. She frowned. "Why? Are you supposed to be a hero? And don't heroes come to the rescue no matter if they're ready or not?" She asked. Ash looked away, wanting to escape. Pikachu was very confused by the woman's mad talk. "I-I'm sorry. But I…we can't stay any longer. We…we got to go." Ash said, still trying to figure out why he said what he did. Pikachu nodded. Rose frowned, and then sighed. "Well, if it's your wish, then I guess I have no choice…" She said; then turned to her left. The closet rattled around. Ash turned to it. Suddenly it busted open and Ash saw a 'woman' exit it. Ash felt his jaw drop when he saw her 'face'. Gasping in shock, Pikachu jumped up and used a thunderbolt on the creature. However it didn't stop it. It quickly kicked the creature to the side. Ash gasped in shock. Ash soon remembered Pyramid Head and became terrified. Ash whirled around to the exit. But then a heavy thing came crashing down on the back of his head, and he lost consciousness. The boy fell to the floor as he moaned in pain. Standing over him with pipe in hand, the woman's faceless head twitched around violently. Rose sighed. She then picked up the mouse, she then put it on the boy's bed. She then looked at Ash. "I had hoped I wouldn't have to use one of your own creations against you, but I won't let you escape. Not now." She said.

…

A group of robbed people looked at Ash. His shirt and jacket had been removed and his wrists and ankles were tied down to the post. The boy was unconscious, his head tilted slightly to the left. One member, the leader, was at an altar with two other members holding iron sticks being heated by fire Pokémon. The leader soon began speaking in a langue that Ash would not recognized if he was awake. After a while, the two members with the iron sticks were done heating their sticks and walked over to Ash. At the end of the sticks were a circular branding area. The symbol was much different than the one Ash had seen before. These were still hoop like however in the middle was a triangle and there were different grabbled scribbles on it. The chanting became contagious as the other members began chanting. Ash grunted. Soon the two members were at Ash's sides. "AWAKEN GUARDIAN!" Rose voice yelled, her voice coming out of the lead member. Soon the two members of soon press the two circular against Ash's shoulders. Ash screamed in pain. After a few minutes, the chanting stopped and the two members removed their soldering irons. Ash breathed heavily as the burns began to glow red. Rose smiled. "Good. All's that is left to do is rejoin the two souls. Then Xuchilbara will be whole. Right now the boy will be resorted to his 'beast' mode. Now… where is Edward?" Rose asked. Suddenly the stain glass window busted open. The group looked up as smoke bombs were thrown into the room. They land and explode causing smoke to consume the room. The group of robbed people coughed. Ash coughed as well.

"Wh-who dares interrupt our ritual!?" Rose yelled. Suddenly they hear laughter fill the air. Suddenly three figures flee in on hang gliders. They soon land near the boy. "Again with the questions, so twerpish indeed!" Jessie yelled as the smoke began to clear. James smiled. "The answer to come as we feel the need!" James added. Jessie and James soon untie Ash. "Indeed!" Meowth yelled out as he brought out his claws. Jessie smiled. "Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Jessie yelled. James grunts. "Thrusting the hammer of justice on the black darkness of the universe." James said. Ash twitched as the evil gang freed his legs. "Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!" Meowth yelled. They soon knocked the two people holding the now cold iron rods away as Meowth cuts the boy's wrists free. "The Fiery Destroyer! I'm Jessie!" Jessie said. They soon were surrounded by the hooded group as Ash twitched again. Team rocket scared. "A-and with thunderous emotion, I am James! James said quickly. They soon grabbed Ash. "Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" Meowth said. Soon Team Rocket pulled out grappling guns and fired them out the window. "NOW GATHER UNDER THE NAME OF TEAM ROCKET!" They yelled at once before zipping away, dropping the white Delilah. The young ones noticed this and grabbed the powder instead of the escaping thieves. Rose growls as the thieves escape. "AFTER THEM!" She roared, however only the slower members ran after them. Team Rocket soon ran across the roofs. James looked back. "Man, this is getting hectic." James said as he sweated. Jessie nodded as she holds Ash. "Yeah." Jessie said. Ash moans. Meowth notices this. "Ugh oh. The twerps trying to wake up and we don't know where the boss is!" Meowth said, scared. The others nodded as they jumped to another roof.

"Man roof jumping is hard. Where's the balloon?" Jessie asked. James sighed. "Back at Perlis' building which is a few miles away back in the commercial district." James said. Jessie groaned. They soon saw something that shocked them, it was their boss. He was holding a large knife sword. **"Follow me."** He said, then climbed down the fire escape. They nodded and followed the man. After a while, they ended up on the ground. The man soon took them to Danvers's burnt house. "THIS IS OUR HIDEOUT!?" Jessie yelled in shock. Ash grunted. The man shushes them. **"Not so loud. The boy can't wake up right now, we've got a lot of work to do. And he really doesn't want to be awake when we do it."** The man said as they entered the burnt building. Team Rocket became confused as they entered the building. "What are you going to do?" James asked. The man smiled and turned to them. He then whispered the answer into their ears. The gang was shocked to hear this. "Wow. That's…intense." Jessie said. The man nodded. **"Yes. But it will turn him into your servant. However it looks like those people took Pikachu away."** The man said then grabbed the boy's belt. He ripped it off and gives it to the gang. **"Here's the first part of your reward. The rest will come later. First you need to take him down stairs. I need to get my assistant and put on my gear."** The man said. Team Rocket nodded and took Ash down stairs. The man smiled. **"Soon Ash, you will pay for your crimes. I see that you're already marked so there's no escape now. Not for you or Edward. Hahaha."** The man said as he entered Danvers's room.

Meanwhile, Rose growled as some of her men came up to her, however when she looked at them she realized they weren't part of the group that was getting wasted nor part of the group that was going after Team Rocket. Rose sighed. "What is it now?" She asked. The group of men bowed. "Misses Gillespie, we're so sorry, Tobias, he…he betrayed us!" One of the members said in a panic. Rose became shocked. "WHAT!? What did he do?" Rose yelled. One of the members stepped forward. "H-he took Edward away. It was just a few moments ago, we had just returned from the police station with the monster, ready to go into the main hallway to begin the ritual when Tobias's Darkrai appeared and used Dark Void on us. When we woke up, Edward and our truck were gone! It had to be Tobias, Edward is too much of a monster to know how to use a car again." He said. Rose growled. "You're going to pay Tobias. I knew there was a traitor in our group, but never did I suspect him, and now…Edward's gone. I don't know where they're going but YOU NEED TO FIND HIM AT ANY COST! XUCHILBARA NEEDS HIM TO AWAKEN PROPERLY!" Rose yelled. The men nodded and ran off, not even questioning what had happened to the room, their other members, or Ash. Rose sighed as she held her head. 'First those strangers take away and NOW THIS!? This isn't looking good. I kind felt something bad was starting by Edward killing the other members in his ritual, but I thought it was him just being hungry for violence…but…this? Was that 'king' right? Did I just doomed the town?' Rose asked herself. She shocked her head. 'No. Ash and Edward can still be saved. This town can be saved. We just need to find them.' Rose thought as she looked out the window.

Everyone looked at the clock. Ash had taken too long. The group had been waiting for almost an hour at the police station before they realized that. The gang decided to go back to the Pokémon center to check on him. Once they reached the place, they asked Nurse Joy about Ash, however she said that Ash hasn't come down yet. The group became worried and went to the elevator since it was the quickest way to the floor they were staying on. They were waiting at the elevator, which took it's time in delivering them up to the right floor. Misty was holding herself in fear. "He's...probably sleeping or grabbing a snack somewhere." Misty muttered, trying to hide the worry in her voice with frustration. Cilan sighed. "I doubt it." Cilan said. Iris nodded. "Yeah, he seemed very desperate to find proof on Perlis. He wouldn't stop just to get a snack." Iris added. With a 'ding' the elevator finally got them to the floor of Ash's, Iris's, and Cilan's room. They walked out with all speed and approached the room the group was staying in. They soon stopped when they saw claw marks on the door. "Uh…guys...why are there claw marks on the door?" Tracy asked. Iris looked at the door. "Yeah. They weren't there before." Iris said. This caused everyone to gulp. This caused them to be even more worried about Ash's safety. Cilan knocked on the door. "Ash? It's us, are you in there?" Cilan asked. No answer. Misty grabbed the doorknob with a twist. "Ash, if you're sleeping, I'll…" The door was unlocked and swung wide open. Misty blinked, puzzled. "Ash?" She called up. The three stepped into the room, listening for any telltale snoring. There wasn't any. Pikachu yawned as he woke up.

Pikachu then quickly noticed the gang. He was shocked to see them and not the monster and the woman who attacked Ash. Suddenly Pikachu realized that Ash could've been knocked. He then looked around, but Ash was nowhere to be seen. Pikachu became scared as he noticed something. Misty followed Pikachu's sight and saw something on the far wall that made her gasp in horror. The others looked up and their eyes went wide. A white note had been pinned to the wall by a rusty metal meat hook. Pikachu and Misty ran to the note and Misty tore it off the wall. _"Markham's home. Hurry. Your friend will be waiting for you there."_ It said. Misty gulped. "Oh no…" Cilan said as he recognized that gulp. He then gulped in shock. Iris looked down. "Ash must be in trouble…" Iris said. Misty growled. "YOU THINK!?" Misty yelled at the purple haired girl's face before bolting out of the center. The others followed her. Whatever was happened to Ash, it wasn't good, and they had to save him. No matter what.

Ash groaned as he woke up again, however it wasn't in his hotel room. His widen eyes darted around as he attempted to get any bearing of his location. He could see nothing but blackness, a blackness that had been recently been burned. He could faintly make out charred wood and a hanging lightbulb over him. Ash tried to get up and failed. His wrists and ankles were strapped tightly to a hospital gurney, pinning him down. The boy furiously and futilely, yelling in anger. Not noticing the pain his body was in thanks to the burns. "When I get my hand on Rose! I'll…!" The light clicked on and the creature from the hotel could be seen. It hissed loudly in his face. Ash lay back down quickly, the reality of his position becoming very apparent. He looked at the creature now that he had a good view of it. The creature had short blonde hair with her front bangs in-between where her eyes would have been and covered where her nose should had been. Her ears had been replaced by three small white horns. She wore a long sleeved nurse top with the top buttons unbuttoned to show her cleavage that was interrupted by the sharp knife between her breasts. She wore a long white skirt that splinted in the high parts in a way that did not show her privet area but allowed him to see her legs. The skirt look tattered and worn out with many holes and stains. She wore green gloves that fused her fingers into three fingers. Her face was none existent as it was covered by several bandages. Ash blushed. For some odd reason, he felt 'attracted' to this monstrosity. He could feel his private part stick up oddly as he looked at this monster. The monster then quickly left his sight and lumbered off.

Ash shivered on the gurney, feeling very cold. He soon realized that he was bare chested and his belt full of Pokémon was gone. However at this angle he couldn't see the new marks on his shoulders. 'No. Nononono. What's going on? Where is everyone? I…I couldn't fail them, could I? Oshawott? Snivy? Pignite? Krookodile? Scraggy? P-PIKACHU!? NO NOT PIKACHU! I…I…' Ash was panicking as he remembered Pikachu being knocked out. **'You couldn't even protect your best friend from a monster. You're pathetic. Why else do you think you're such a failure? Because monsters can't be happy. They can't have love. They can't have the girl. Why are you deluding yourself into something you're not? You can't escape. You can't be happy. Monsters are never met to be happy.'** A bitter voice said to Ash. Ash closed his eyes. "Shut up. Shut up! I'm not a monster! Edward's the monster! Edward's the one at fault! EDWARD WAS THE ONE WHO KILLED THOSE PEOPLE! NOT ME!" Ash roared. However, nobody responded. Ash heavily breathed. It felt like he was going nuts. "I'm…I'm not a monster…I'm Ash…I'm Ash…" Ash said, trying to calm himself. He felt so conflicted inside. Ash soon began to mumble to himself the phrase 'I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm not a monster.' over and over, trying to keep off the voice that said that he was a monster. That voice that said his father hated him. That it was his fault his father left. That…that he was something to be feared. That he was just like Pyramid Head. Tears rained down his face as he tried his best to ignore the pain. Suddenly footsteps were heard, heavy ones on one side, and three lighter ones on the other. This snaps Ash out of his tears. With a little effort, Ash managed to turn to the lighter footfalls. Sadness was replaced by rage as Ash saw three familiar faces. The boy growled. "TEAM ROCKET! I should have known you guys would be behind this! Where's Rose? Where did she go? What's going on?" Ash viscously asked. The group was annoyed by his questions. "Gee, for a guy we just saved, he's so ungrateful." Meowth said as he jumped onto the table so Ash could see him.

Ash was soon confused. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Ash asked. Jessie smirked. "We SAVED you from the people who first captured you. It's a shame that you didn't get to see it. It was a fun ride. Although it looks like we were a little too late. They branded you with some tattoo things." Jessie explained. Ash tilted his head. "But then why am I here? Why am I on this bed? And why did you take THAT thing?" Ash asked, very confused. The gang sighed. "We didn't take anything other than you twerp, so I have no idea what you're talking about. It works for our new temporary boss. We don't know how you already know her but maybe you met her while we were on Perlis team. As for why you're here, let's just say that it's something you wish you shouldn't have woken up for." James said. Two hands forced Ash on his back again. The boy looked up to see a huge triangular shadow looming over him. Wide-eyed, Ash began to struggle more desperately. Pyramid Head's hands refused to let him move. "Wow, that's one cool helmet, boss." Meowth said, saying it like it's the first time he had seen the helmet, but not the monster. The monster looked at them. **"Go to the first floor and make sure no one enters until you get the signal. We don't want…intruders interrupting the plan."** A deep threating voice said. It sounded the same as the one in his dream. The three thieves nodded, knowing who the voice belonged to, and then left. "Wh-who's there? Sh-show yourself, you…you monster!" Ash screamed, feeling another person's presence. He simply heard a chuckle in response as Pyramid Head's helmet shifted. Ash became terrified as he realized it was Pyramid Head who had said it. The faceless creature stood over Ash and produced a glinting scalpel in her left gloved hand with a small round metal thing in its right hand. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT'S HAPPENING? PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME!" Ash yelled, desperate to stop this. Pyramid Head looked at the monsters. **"Do it."** Pyramid Head said to the creature in a flat tone. The scalpel flew towards Ash's chest. Ash screamed in pain and everything went black.


	12. Chapter 11

ch. 11

 **(Hey, it's Aura! Sorry this took so long. Had to write the other chapters and forgot that I was uploading things like this. Also had to change Ash's appearance for the second 'half' of the story. Oh, this where things starting getting 'Silent hill-ish'.)**

Edward groaned as he woke up. 'Ugh, my head. Where am…' Edward thought, before he realized he was in a cage. The cage was big enough for a small, humans since he was stuck in a large Van that was being driven by Tobias. Edward held his head. 'Ugh...not again.' Edward thought, vaguely remembering being stuck in this cage before. **'** **You couldn't even protect your best friend from a monster. You're pathetic. Why else do you think you're such a failure? Because monsters can't be happy. They can't have love. They can't have the girl. Why are you deluding yourself into something you're not? You can't escape. You can't be happy. Monsters are never met to be happy.'** A bitter voice said. Edward growled. 'I'm not pathetic! I'm not weak! I'm not a monster like you keep saying I am, Jekyll, now SHUT UP! I…I need to figure out what's going on with me? I…I last remember Perlis using the collar on me, and everything past it is a blur. I…I think I remember a few things, like Tobias and Rose talking to me in this cage but…ugh my head.' Edward thought. He soon sighed as he closed his eyes and calmed down. He opened his eyes and looked at Tobias. He was driving the Van and he was the only one in the Van other than himself. Tobias looked very annoyed. He didn't like that he was doing goon work. However, if it stopped Xuchilbara's reconstruction, he was willing to do anything. Tobias looked at Edward using the review mirror. Edward was wearing the executioner's clothes, which was a simple long apron skirt. He had thick chest hair, hairy arms and hands, he was much more muscular than what a normal business man should be, he was still wearing the weird collar, his hair was longer with it going to the middle of his back, and his sideburns were covered with yellow hair. "Edward… I'm… I'm sorry about all of this. I didn't want this to happen. I never wanted you to be in this mess. If… if you can hear me Ash, please understand. There's this great man inside of you. A man who could help all kinds of people if he wanted to but… he's trapped by the monsters. Trapped by his own darkness. He… he could lead us to a happier life. I just wanted you to become him again. Maybe… maybe he's not the same man as I think he is. But it's better than this. You… you don't want to be Xuchilbara. I know this. Ash, please become Dark. He can stop Perlis AND the Order. You just need to listen to me." Tobias said, unsure what to really say at the boy. Edward looked up and sighed. "You honestly thought HE would help you? (chuckles) You're more pathetic than I thought. Well, I guess you're the one to first send me to Silent Hill." Edward said.

"Yes, however, after you refused to become Dark, I became desperate and asked the order for help. I didn't want to work with them, but it was the only option I had left. I'm…I'm sorry it spiraled into this." Tobias apologize. Edward sighed. "I don't even know WHAT'S going on anymore. I remember Perlis used this stupid collar on me and I remember blanking out, but… I…I don't remember anything after that." Edward said as he held his head, "I…I remember vague words and this primal rage, but that's about it." Tobias was surprised to hear this. "You don't remember anything?" Tobias asked. Edward nodded. "Yeah. I still hate you and Perlis, and I also hate Rose now, but it feels like that feeling has been magnified. Weird." Edward said. Tobias became scared. He remembered Darkrai's warning. "I-it's probably nothing, Edward. Just…just ignore it. I-I'm going to get you, Ash, and the others out of here. I'm done working with Perlis and the Order. I can't stand what they're doing to you." Tobias said. Edward smiled and relaxed. "Finally, I'm going to get out of this crazy town. I'm so done with this place. Thanks Tobias. I know you're still a massive jerk and you're going to get punished, but it won't be AS bad as you feared it to be." Edward said. Tobias sighed in relief. However, Edward soon felt dread. **'Have you forgotten our deal? You promised to kill Perlis. You promised to repent for your sins. Do you want to be this monster? Do you want to make them fear you?'** The voice asked, angry. Edward smirked. 'Well it's better than me feeling fear, Henry. So what if I'm a monster? That's not Ash. I'll just go away once I'm back in Ash. Besides, I'll kill Perlis, I just need to get everyone out first so it doesn't matter. Besides…They're scared of us. They don't need to know what I've done.' Edward said to 'Jekyll' with a smile. He soon heard a growl. ' **Doesn't matter you say, huh… you'll disappear, huh… liar… I know you. You don't disappear. You don't permanently become good. You don't repent unless I MAKE YOU REPENT!'** The voice growled.

Edward soon felt fear. 'H-henry, wh-what are you talking about? A-are you okay?' Edward thought, scared for 'Henry's' safety. Edward soon froze up, like something was forcefully holding him in place. "H-henry…wh-what's going on? My body? Why does it hurt so much?" Edward asked. Edward soon screamed in pain as he felt his mind shifting to Ash's. Edward tried to move to hold his head, but his body was frozen. Tobias noticed this and quickly parked the car. He then shift to Edward. "Edward, what's going on with you?" Tobias asked, confused by Edward's pain. Edward began crying as he opened his eyes, they were Ash's eyes. "H-help me! My head hurts… I… I can't think…! Daddy…help me!" Ash's voice called out. Soon Edward held his head and screamed in pain. He soon saw the scalpel inching towards him. "G-get away! GET AWAY FROM ME! I-I don't want to die again! I don't want to die again!" Ash said as the blade became a large sword. Soon the 'sword' pierced Edward's chest. Edward screamed in pain and then fainted. Tobias unbuckled his seatbelt and rushed over to Edward, who was lying uncomfortably in his cell. Tobias opened the door and checked on Edward by touching his forehead. Tobias winched as he pulled away from the creature. The manifestation was burning hot and breathing sporadically. Tobias knew this wasn't good. He knew there was nothing he could do with the manifestation since it wasn't real. 'I have to find Ash. He's in trouble. I know it.' Tobias thought. He soon noticed Misty and the gang running down the sidewalk he had parked next to. He opened the car's door. "Guys, what are you doing here?" Tobias asked as he exited the car. The gang stopped and gasped for breath. "We-we're on our way to Mr. Danvers's House! Ash has been kidnapped! But…but what are you doing here with Edward? What happened to him?" Misty managed to gasp out as she noticed Edward on the floor of the Van. Tobias was shocked to hear this. "WHAT!? Don't worry, I'll take you to the man's house and I'll tell you about Edward later, first we need to save Ash! Get into my Van!" Tobias yelled. The gang smiled and entered the truck as Tobias locked up the cage, and then got into the driver's seat. The gang soon buckled up. Tobias soon drove off to Danvers house. Edward held himself as the car went into motion. "Daddy…daddy help me… make it stop…" Edward mumbled. Misty looked at Edward. She felt sorry for the monster, yet she didn't know why.

"Tobias, you still haven't answered us. Why is Edward here? Why is he dressed like this?" Iris asked. Tobias sighed. "I…I'm sorry for dragging you into this… Edward's here because the guardian's powers are going out of control and messing with his mind. And it's effecting Ash. I…I was the one to summon Ash here because I wanted to unlock Ash's potential as a trainer. I saw a great guy in him, however, Ash was scared of changing himself and refused my offer. I didn't want to let him waste his potential as a trainer so… I went to this town and hatched a plan to unlock that potential… however things spiraled out of control. They found out 'Ash' was the guardian and tried to 'awaken' him. I thought this guardian was the great man I wanted Ash to be…however… as you can see things aren't going so well… Edward was released from Ash. However, the Order knew Edward wasn't fully the guardian so they were going to us a ceremony to 'awaken' his full powers, but I grabbed him before that happened. The guardian is not the same man I wanted Ash to be, and if they succeeded, Ash and Edward would fully become like that twisted monster you met. I put Edward into that cage to make sure he didn't attack at me. Edward can't handle them and in turn it's turning him into a monster. I don't know how exactly this new monster works, but I've been trying to stop it with Perlis… However, I soon learned that he plans on trying to use this monster to take over the world. If something isn't done soon, Ash and Edward will be consumed by the darkness. I don't know what's going on with this 'Pyramid Head' guy, but he's probably another creature made by the guardian's powers. Miss Rose said he was the 'king of Pokelantis' but obviously that idea is too ridiculous even for what's happening." Tobias said. The gang gasped and looked at Edward. He was now twitching in pain.

Suddenly the car stopped, shocking the gang. "We're here." Tobias said as he parked the car. The gang nodded and exited the car. They soon saw the burnt up house. They quickly rushed into the living room and saw Team Rocket in the middle of the room, smiling at the gang. The gang growled. "Team Rocket! But…why didn't you take Pikachu when you took Ash? And why did you steal Ash in the first place?" Misty asked, confused. Jessie sighed. "Well, we would have took Pikachu IF we were the ones who first stole the twerp, however we weren't. We stole him from the first group of cult group who burned some mark onto his shoulders. But that's not important now! Right now we're here for your Pokémon and to make sure you don't interfere with our boss!" Jessie yelled. James smirked. "Right now he's doing something awful to the twerp that will make him our slave. Unfortunately you twerps have to be in the way. Oh well, Yamask, use shadow ball!" James yelled as he initiates a Pokémon battle. Soon a black creature with red eyes and a golden mask appeared out of the Pokeball and fired a large black energy ball at the gang. The dodge the attack, which hits a wall and tore it apart. Jessie smirked and pulled out her own Pokeball. "Go Woobat!" Jessie yelled as she threw her Pokeball. Soon a large ball of fluff with bat wings and a heart shape pig nose and large mouth appeared. "Use gust to blow them away!" Jessie yelled. Woobat soon began flapping its wings really hard. The gang grunted as they resisted the wind. Pikachu, who was on the ground, growls. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to end this already! Ash needs us!" Misty yelled. Pikachu nodded and charges up. "Pika! CHU!" Pikachu soon blasted at the gang. It hits them hard and blasts them out of the house, leaving a massive hole through the roof. "Ah man, this stinks! We were so close to winning." Jessie yelled as they started to fly in the air. James sighed. "Oh well, we'll call the boss and we'll have our puppet. We'll get Pikachu next time, I promise!" James said. Meowth became scared. "But what if the twerps stop him before he could do that?" Meowth ferreted. This scared the group of theives. "Crap! TEAM ROCKET IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Jessie and James yelled as the gang blasted off into a star form with a little 'ding' sound effect. "Bye, bye." Misty said with a smile.

They soon remembered Ash and they rushed to the basement, however, when they got there, Ash was just lying on the medical bed. His head was to the right and a large scar was on his chest that was bleeding badly. Something had been messing with him. Misty and Tracy ran up to Ash and began untying him while Cilan called the hospital and the others began searching for the culprits of this travesty. Once freed, Tracy helped Ash up and put him on his back. "Don't worry, Ash. We'll find this 'boss', Team Rocket talked about and make him pay for doing this to you." Tracy said, however that caused Ash to breathe heavily. Ash growled as his hands became fists. Tracy became scared so he let Ash down. Ash held his head as he stabilized himself. He soon opened his eyes. His eyes were exactly like Edward's and it scared Misty. "A-Ash, c-calm down. You'll…you'll be fine. We just need to get you to a hospital." Misty said, scared. Ash looked at Misty. She looked much different in his eyes. She had black hair, soft brown eyes, wore a military jacket over a black corset, bra, and panties. Ash felt his heart race as he looked at her. "Lucy…" He said as he touched her face. Misty shivered and back away. 'Get away from me, monster!' Ash heard her scream inside. Ash held his head as he began to breathe heavily. "M-Monster!? Is… IS THAT HOW YOU SEE ME!? AS A MONSTER!? YOU…YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT ME! YOU ONLY WANTED HENRY! YOU…YOU HATE ME!" Ash yelled at Misty. Misty fell on her butt and looked at him in fear. Ash growled and raised up his fist in rage. Tracy quickly grabbed Ash's hand. "Ash, what is wrong with you? You're…you're acting like Edward again. What did that man do to you?" Tracy asked. Ash soon held his head and screamed as he felt the pain increase. Tracy lets go of Ash in fear.

Meanwhile, Edward was also screaming in pain, his body becoming more monstrous as his hands became claws, his teeth enlarged, black horns grew out of his head, and a long lizard tail grew out of his behind. Tobias noticed this and became afraid. "Guys, please hurry." Tobias whispered as he took Edward out of his cage. Back with the gang, Ash opened his eyes and let out a monstrous roar. Suddenly his eyes spaced out and then he fainted. The group quickly grabbed Ash and left the room. Ash needed help, badly, even more than ever. They soon rushed out of the building as an ambulance arrived. Ash was imminently put on a stretcher and Edward was brought out of the van and put on another stretcher. The men and women were disgusted by the monster Edward had become. The gang became scared. They soon went into the van as the ambulance drove off once the two were securely in the car. Misty sighed as the gang buckled up. "I…I hope Ash will be okay." Misty said, scared. The others nodded. "I'm scared as well. We…we just need to help them. No matter what," Tobias said.

…

Ash screamed as he fell down a massive hole. Darkness surrounded him as he heard screams of terror.

"Monster, get away from us!" A voice yelled.

"He needs to die! He's a menace!" Another voice yelled.

"Mommy, the monster's going to eat me!" A young boy's voice yelled in fear.

"Abomination! I can't believe I had you!" A man yelled.

"Daddy, no! Don't go! I need you!" A younger version of Ash's voice yelled out in terror. Ash closed eyes. This was just a bad dream. He was going to wake up and everything that was going on would be revealed as a dream. Pyramid Head, Edward Hyde, the nurse creature, they were just a bad dream. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't a murderer. He was just Ash. Ash soon felt his body stop as he felt wires wrap around him. Ash opened his eyes and saw that he was now trapped in a web of wires. His arms, legs, torso, wrists, ankles, and neck were all wrapped in wire. "Wh-what the? Where am I!?" Ash yelled as he looked around. He was in the middle of the city but everything was covered in fog that it made it hard to tell where exactly where he was. Ash was confused. He looked up to see the wires disappearing into the fog. Ash sighed as he moved his arms and legs. It hurt and he felt like a puppet. Ash growled, he didn't like being a puppet. Ash soon saw Satoshi walking up to him. Ash smiled. "Satoshi! Oh Arceus, I'm glad you're here! What happened to me? I…I remember that Pyramid Head guy put something into me and I vaguely remember this woman running away in fear and me yelling at her in anger but that's about it before I blacked out." Ash asked, confused. Satoshi smiled as he put his hand on Ash's chest. Ash winched in pain. "Don't worry, Ash, everything will be okay. I'm here. I won't let him hurt you again." Satoshi said. Ash was confused by Satoshi's kindness. But then again, the man had been oddly nice to him ever since they had come to this town. "Satoshi, what's going on? What happened to me? Was…was pyramid Head real? Did…did he really hurt me?" Ash asked. Satoshi looked down in shame. "Y-yes. That…that monster is real and yes I…he did. I'm sorry for not helping you." Satoshi said in shame. Ash smiled. "That's okay. Besides, what could you do that I couldn't do?" Ash said. Satoshi pouted. "I'm much more skilled in my aura than you are, so I could do a lot more than you. You hardly know nothing of aura or how to use it, so you were as helpless as the child you are... Although…I guess that not important. Ash, how do you feel right now?" Satoshi asked. Ash was confused by this question. "Um…good as I could be. My chest kind of hurts and I'm a bit scared, but I'm fine. Really. I'm going to make Edward and Perlis and Pyramid Head pay for this! If it wasn't for them, this would have never happened!" Ash yelled. Satoshi looked down.

"Yes…It never should had happened. I…I…I'm sorry for not being there for you. All I've done is called you names and reminded you of your past…" Satoshi said, ashamed. Ash was confused. "You mean about what Edward did? Don't sweat it. I'm not a killer. Edward was just using me to do that. I don't know why Pyramid Head acted like he and I are the same person and that I'm a killer, but once Perlis and the others pay, we're going to go on and forget about it. It's…It's for the best." Ash said. Satoshi looked at Ash. He wanted to say something, but couldn't. Ash soon noticed something was far off in the distance. Ash's eyes shrunk as he saw it was Edward, on all fours running at them. "Satoshi, behind you! That…that monster is coming!" Ash yelled. Satoshi turned his head and screamed in fear. Edward then jumped forward. Satoshi dodges and the monster jumps into Ash's body. Ash screamed in pain as his body glowed and was consumed by the beast. Ash panted as he opened his eyes. A hole had opened where the pain was. Ash became scared. "Where…where's Edward!? Where did that monster go!? I…I need to stop him before he hurts anyone!" Ash yelled, scared. Satoshi sighed as he pulled out a mirror and showed Ash his reflection. Ash became terrified. His entire body had become Edward. There was nothing that signified that he had once been Ash Ketchum. "Ash…I'm sorry, but you need to realize that you are Edward. You are this creature you feared about. I know you're scared of him and that you and him don't have a lot in common but you need to realize this. For everyone's sake. The more you ignore this side, the more likely it will take over. And if…and if he takes over…everyone will parish." Satoshi said. Ash held his head in disbelief. "No…nonono! You're lying! I'm not a monster! I'm not a beast! I'm not…I'm not a killer! I…I don't even remember what he did or who he hurt! I just…I just remember the agony…the people who blamed me…the people who hated me…the people who said I was…a…a monster…" Ash said as he began to cry. He then looked at Satoshi. "Satoshi, please. I'm scared. Stop this monster." Ash cried out as he touched Satoshi's arms. Satoshi cried out in pain as his body began to change into that brown haired man from earlier. Ash looked at the man with shock. "Satoshi!?" Ash yelled. The man fell to his knees and panted he looked at the boy and became scared "S-Satoshi, what's…what's going on with us? I…I'm scared." Ash cried, terror on his face. The man got up in fear. "G-get away from me, monster! I…I should have never had created you! It was a mistake! The board was right!" Satoshi yelled, then ran off. Ash became terrified as he watched the man run off. "No…NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS! YOU CAN'T! DADDY…DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!" Ash cried out at the man, not entirely sure why he was calling him his father. Ash struggled in the wires, however it was cutting into his skin, making him bleed. "DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!" Ash screamed as tried his best to escape the misery he was in.

Ash felt the wires dragging him away from the man. "NO! DADDY! DADDY!" Ash screamed as he tried to reach out for the man. Ash screamed, the pain increasing. Ash's body felt like it was dying. Ash was scarred. **"Daddy hates you. Daddy despises you. He won't come back. He never will. He doesn't love you. He doesn't love a monster. That's what you are. A monster. A beast. Now die for your sins."** Ash's own voice said against the crying child. "No… no… daddy…daddy…" Ash weakly said. It was getting harder and harder for him to speak. Ash's vision soon began fading. He could hear mumbling, however, he couldn't make them out. Ash soon felt something touch his chest. Ash was breathing heavily as he temporarily closed his eyes. Once Ash opened his eyes, he saw a red circle in front of him. Ash weakly moved his hand towards it but it soon disappeared before he could touch it. Ash looked down and began to wheap. The pain was incredible. He didn't know how much more he could take of it. "Daddy…daddy…daddy…daddy…" Ash cried as he closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt something touch his shoulder. Ash looked up and smiled. It was 'daddy'. "Daddy…daddy help me…daddy…I'm scared…can't breathe…" Ash begged as best as he could. The man soon touched Ash's chest and the wound and the other wounds began to heal. Ash sighed in relief. Ash lean his head onto the man's chest. "Daddy, don't leave me again. I love you…I don't want to be scared anymore." Ash weakly said. The man smiled. "I love you too Ash…I love you too." He said. Ash smiled as tears fell down his eyes. He wanted this to stay forever. 'No more Perlis. No more Order…I…I just want daddy. Only daddy and friends matter. Only I matter.' Ash thought as the hole subtly opened up, darkness forming into a black heart that beat like a war drum. After some time, Ash noticed a light shining below them. Ash covered his eyes as 'daddy' let go of him. "D-daddy?" Ash asked as the man smiled. 'Daddy' scrambled Ash's hair. "Don't worry, I won't **harm you again…IF YOU BEHAVE…"** 'Daddy' said as his voice became Pyramid Head's. Soon he grabbed Ash's neck. **"Do NOT disappoint me again, boy."** 'Daddy' said. Ash breathed heavily. Ash flashed back to the monster hunting him. Ash closed his eyes. 'No…NO! Daddy isn't a monster! Daddy loves me! LOVES ME! LOVES…loves…loves…' Ash thought as he opened his eyes, however his thoughts became struck as he saw Pyramid Head. Ash was breathing heavily as terror filled his body. Pyramid head lets go of the boy and the wires snapped. Ash began falling again, but this time into the light. It was getting brighter and brighter as he came closer. Ash felt his body shrieking in pain. Suddenly he was enwrapped by the light. Ash saw a shadow at the end of the light.

"He's waking up! Easy now..." A voice said, however, Ash couldn't recognize it. Ash hazily saw a nurse like shadow shining a light into his eyes. His unrestrained hand swiftly hit her in the face before he realized that she _had_ a face. "ASH, what was THAT for?!" A gloriously familiar voice broke Ash out of his half-asleep stupor and woke him up for real. He was out of the burning building and inside a pristine white hospital room. Fluorescent lights shone down on him like rays of heaven. He was lying in a bed that, at the moment, felt softer than a cloud. Ash shocked his head clear and turned to see who he had accidently hit. The nurse had long blonde-red hair and an old fashioned nurse's outfit, with a white dress and red cardigan. Her face was a thing of beauty after the faceless creatures. She smiled reassuringly. "Hey...it's alright now. You're Ok." She said. Ash wheezed to get his breath back. He was Ok. He was Ok. Ok. Ok. "Ash, are you okay?" The voice asked. Ash turned towards the voice. It was Misty, his old friend. He smiled again, and she gave a smile of relief back. It was beautiful. His heart raced in joy just to see her. Pikachu, his best buddy since the beginning, hopped into his lap. Ash grunt a little before he suddenly wrapped the Pokémon in a tight hug, happy beyond belief to be alive and with his friends. Pikachu had the breath knocked out of him, but he didn't complain. The nurse watched the touching scene with a smile. "Oh, thank goodness." Misty breathed, "I was so worried..." Ash didn't respond, still clutching Pikachu. "Ash? Hello~?" Misty said as she moved her hand to try and snap him out of the daze. Ash looked up. "Oh, hi Misty." Ash warmly said. The girl's face became enraged. "'OH, HI'? Do you know how scared I was? I thought you were going to DIE!" Misty yelled in fear. The thought made Ash snap to attention. "What do you mean? What happened?" Ash asked.

The nurse explained, restraining Misty, "She found you in Markham's house after fighting a group called 'Team Rocket'...well what was left of the place, anyway. You were unconscious and bleeding from a deep wound near your chest. And ...well..." A though struck the nurse, and she grabbed a mirror from a shelf nearby. She handed it to Ash to see for himself. Ash blinked in shock as he held the mirror to his face. His hair was a mess, even more than usual, and he had thick fangs poking out from under his lips. Ash smiled widely and saw that all his teeth were now razor sharp. Thankfully his bags had disappeared. Ash looked at his chest. It had a long scar near his right lung. The stymied boy touched the scare gingerly. Sure enough, the line was real since he could feel it. His hand stayed on it for a minute. "...you've changed to be liked this. Luckily there wasn't anything else except a bruise on your head. But, you were out for a day and a night. I'm surprised it didn't last longer base off how deep the scare is. Oddly there was this…thing in your chest." She said as she showed Ash the strange disk thing he saw the nurse monster hold. Ash was shocked by this revelation. "I've been out that long!?" Ash asked. The woman sweated. "Yeah...it was a good thing we got to you fast enough. Thankfully Tobias and your friends helped you out." She said. Ash just kept staring at the scar. How was he going to explain this to mom? Maybe he could hide the scare? However, that left the hair. She would freak seeing his teeth. Ash ran his finger over the scar to make sure it wasn't some Halloween novelty prank. No. The scare was real. Ash looked at the mirror. Staring back at him was a boy that looked just like himself but 'monsterized'. Ash felt his whole body twist inside as he remembered that the strange dream he had. Pikachu tapped the unresponsive boy on the chin. "Pikapi?" Pikachu said. Ash looked down and hugged his pet as he began to cry. "Make it stop. Make the monster stop. I...I just want to be happy again...I...I just want to be normal again." Ash cried. Misty smiled. "Well, you're okay. That's what matters the most. So, we should get going now. Your wound is all healed up, Tobias paid for your ticket and his own, and Edward is back in jail after getting healed. I don't wanna spend another day in this crazy town!" Misty proclaimed.

The nurse turned to Misty. "Well, I need to give him a quick checkup and sign some paperwork before he can go, I'm sorry." She said. Misty groaned. "Just as long as it's fast! If I have to spend one more night here, I'll go insane!" Misty yelled. Ash held his head. He could feel himself slipping. "The world has already gone insane. Might as well join it." He said in a monotone voice. Misty looked at him in shock. "What? Ash, no, it's just this town. Everything else is fine. Just please, snap out of it." She said. Just then the door opened. Tracy, Tobias, Cilan, and Iris walked in nervously to see Ash sitting up and had continued to stare at the mirror. Iris was holding a flower that had been picked apart while she had been waiting. Axew was on her shoulder and looked very happy as they noticed the boy. "Ash! Oh, thank goodness." Iris said as she takes a breath of relief. Axew said 'hi' as he waved. "You're alright!" Tracy said, finishing Iris' line. Cilan and Tobias nodded. "Hi guys." Ash replied airily without looking away from his hair. Cilan blinked. "What's the matter? I'd thought you'd at least recovered by now." Cilan said in confusion. Lisa sadly looked at the boy. "He's just a little shell-shocked, I guess." The nurse explained, "I think he'll be fine now." The group smiled except for Ash. "Thanks Lisa for helping him out." Iris said. Tracy nodded. "Yeah, I bet you could heal anyone." Tracy said. She blushed. "Oh. I don't know about that. Besides, most of it was because of the doctors, not me. Especially Henry. Despite being so new, he's one of our best doctors." She said. Ash snarled at the name 'Henry'. Everyone noticed this. "Ash, is something wrong?" Tracy asked. Ash held his head. He then remembered his 'father'. "It was Team Rocket and Pyramid Head!" Ash yelled, his voice, flat and full of fury. His teeth were gritted in a snarl and his eyes held a blazing hatred. Everyone stepped back. Something about him felt...wrong.

"Team Rocket! They! They did this! They're working with that...Pyramid Head thing and some maid...nurse...they did this to me! They kidnapped me and planted Rose Gillespie…she...she distracted me and released that monster we know as Edward Hyde out from jail! Distracted me from Perlis! FROM MY TARGET!" Ash snarled with such fury that Pikachu was frightened off his lap. "The next time I see them, I'll...I'll...GRAAAGH!" **CRASH!** Ash blinked. The mirror was lying face down on the bedside table, broken into pieces. He groaned. Seven years of bad luck. Just what he need. Everyone just stared at him for a moment, surprised by the outburst from the normally friendly Ash. It reminded them of Eddie and it scared them. Then Lisa smiled again. "Maybe you should rest. You've been through a lot." She said. Ash sighed in agreement as Pikachu returned to his lap. "Ok. But we're getting out of here once I'm done with Perlis, I'm sick of this place. I'll…I'll get Perlis for this. I swear it." Ash coldly said. His friends nodded. "Yeah. A lot of people have already left. Even some of the local citizens have packed up and went away. Usually they can handle the nightmares, but Edward and this 'Pyramid Head' are really making things worse," Lisa said. Suddenly she remembered something. "Listen, I'll grab my kit and give you one last checkup, and then you can leave." Lisa said. She nudged her way to the door, and left the children in the room. "You're sure you think Team Rocket is working with Pyramid Head?" Tracy asked. Ash glared at him. "Tracy. It was him! They called him 'boss' and he told the nurse 'do it' and..." Ash said. He was suddenly interrupted by Iris. "You mean Lisa?" Iris asked. Ash shocked his head violently. "No! Not Lisa! She had blond short hair and... some strange mask and weird dress with a knife near her breast...and..." Ash said. Misty looked at him all confused. "Ash, start over. What happened?" Misty asked. Ash sighed.

The boy calmed down and started at the beginning: the maid that looked like Dawn and said that she was her aunt, the creature she called forth, the hospital table, Team Rocket and their plan to make him their servant, the weird fact that they said they saved him from some church freaks, Pyramid Head holding him down and telling the others orders, the faceless nurses, the scalpel, and the weird metal plate he saw that was now out of him. When he finished the story with him waking up here and the scar, everyone paused in thought. Ash thankfully couldn't remember much of his dream so he ignored it. "It's weird, alright." Cilan said. Everyone nodded. "Why would Team Rocket work for Pyramid Head though?" Misty asked. Tracy nodded. "Yeah. If they wanted to make him their slave, they wouldn't leave a note telling us to hurry, they would've just use Ash when he was in their control. Besides, all he has is a scar and some odd teeth now. Why isn't he under their control if that's their plan?" Iris asked, very confused. Ash growled. "BECAUSE THEY'RE PSYCHOS!" Ash answered angrily, "Violent, insane maniacs! Jessie, James, Meowth, Pyramid Head, the nurse...they're lunatics! Why else?" Misty gulped. "Well..." Misty said, but he growled at her. She took a step back. Ash has never been THIS hostile before. Lisa suddenly walked in with a tray of plastic instruments and a slight smile. "Just a quick look-over, then I can release you. Ok?" She asked Ash. This snapped Ash back from his rage. He sighed. "Ok." Ash said. Everyone sighed. Ash's friends got out of the way. Lisa did the cursory checkup. Blood pressure was normal as expected, same with temperature, heartbeat was good, eyes were normal, and tongue was pink...

"Hey..." Lisa said as she shined her tiny flashlight into Ash's open mouth. "Whah?" Ash asked without closing his mouth. She moved the flashlight. "Just keep it open, please." She said. Very carefully Lisa took a pair of plastic tweezers and inserted them into Ash's open mouth. "Lihah?" Ash asked. She looked into his mouth. "Hold still for a sec..." She calmly reassured. Ash didn't understand what exactly Lisa was doing inside his mouth. Then he felt a tug on the inside of his cheek. Lisa pulled harder. "LIHAH!" Ash yelled his heart panicking. She smiled. "Easy..." She said. Whatever Lisa was pulling out, it finally gave. Ash settled down and put his hand on the cheek Lisa had ripped something out. "Whah was that?" He mouthed. Lisa smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." In the tweezers was a small white plastic case covered in tape and saliva. Everyone looked at it funny. "What's this?" She asked as she looked at the thing. Ash rubbed his cheek. "What was it doing in my mouth?" Ash asked, very confused. Lisa set the thing down. Then slipping on some gloves, she removed the tape from the mysterious tiny case. Then, picking it up, she popped the case open. It was a portable USB drive, very well protected. "Um...anyone have a laptop?" Lisa asked. Nobody in the room did, but Lisa suddenly remembered where hers was and went to collect it. She came back with a black laptop with a picture of a trucker on the back. Ash held his head. That trucker seemed familiar. Ash shocked the pain away as Lisa turned it on. The curious group inserted the USB drive. On the drive were two files. One was titled 'Historical Celebration of Yoka Village'. Another was simply tiled 'WATCH'. Lisa clicked the 'watch' one. Tobias gulped. He had a bad feeling about this.

...

It was the dead of the night, but all they could see was a door with a small window at the top to show the night. Plain. Unremarkable. Nothing to look at really. A clock was on the upper portion of the screen and the time said 12:12 am. The only reason it could be seen was because of the camera's night-vision capabilities. The doorbell rang. A weary Markham trudged up to the door. He recognized who it was although the camera didn't see him. "Perlis? Phew. It's just you. I thought it was Eddie. That psycho threatened to kill me after all. He...he thinks I want to change the town and get rid of the cult. He...he thinks I want to destroy God. I'm so worried that he'll come at any moment. Why are you here anyways? It's after midnight. Please tell me that he's uncontrolled." Markham said as he opened the door. Perlis voice soon chuckled. "Oh, yes. Xuchilbara is under control. In fact, he's perfectly under control. GET HIM." Perlis said. Suddenly a large knife like Pyramid Head's shoved through the old man pieced through the other side. Markham, now with a large sword in his chest, fell to the floor with a frozen expression of shock and horror on his face. A strange, animal like creature entered the place. It was wearing a large collar, had large blonde hair that covered its face and hair its chest and arms, and it wore a butcher's outfit much like Pyramid Head's. It looked human, but at the same time, it didn't. Perlis smiled as he entered the area, carrying a gas can. "Can I now let Darkrai enter its mind?" A voice asked that was offlay like Tobias's. Perlis smiled as he turned towards the door.

"Yes. Just make sure it doesn't wake up from 'slumber'. I don't want my slave to regain its thoughts." Perlis said. Soon a flash could be seen outside the door and a Darkrai entered the room. It soon touched the creature's head and the strange creature was consumed by an aura of darkness. It screamed in pain. After several minutes, Darkrai was pushed away. The creature screamed an inhuman roar and ran out of the house. "DAMN IT! You'd failed, Darkrai! Legendary my ass! There goes my...our secret weapon!" Perlis yelled. He kicked the creature in the stomach. "I...I'm sorry sir. Xuchilbara's mental psyche is much more complex and advance than I thought. It could fight me off even while in a feral state. However, we can recapture it. It still is acting like an animal, so the collar still works. We just need to keep it away from the populace." Darkrai said. The business man sighed. "I hope so." Tobias said as he entered the building. Perlis groaned as he began pouring the gasoline all over the ground. "At least I've killed of Markham. Now they have to make me mayor." Perlis said. Darkrai nodded as it got up. Tobias soon recalled it into a Pokeball. Perlis mutters angrily as he poured the area. He soon through the gas canteen to the ground, pulled out the sword, and got a match out. Utterly unaware that a hidden security camera was watching him and Tobias, and that, days later, a very shocked group of people would be watching.

Once the video was over, everyone glared at Tobias, especially Ash, who was growling in rage. Tobias sighed. "Yes, glare at me. I deserve it. I deserve all your hatred. While I now realize how much of a cheating scumbag Perlis is, I should have never had agreed to help him get close to Mr. Danvers. I should had realized that Danvers wasn't a treat to anything, but I was too trusting in Perlis's words. He said that he was a threat to my plan to awaken the power in Ash, however now I know it was a lie." Tobias said. Ash became confused. "Um…what are you talking about?" Ash asked. Lisa agreed in confusion. The gang sighed. Tobias then quickly explained what he had already explained to the gang. Ash was shocked to hear this. Once he was done, he bowed. "I hope you can forgive me." He said. Ash looked at the man. He could tell that he was hiding something. However, Ash held his head and sighed. He then looked at Tobias. "You're a scumbag, Tobias. You're one of the lowest man I've ever seen. You shouldn't had been so back handed about this. You should had talked to me about this. I would've been excited about this 'great' man I had inside, but…now…I guess it wouldn't have mattered. That man doesn't exist. It was just a couple of monsters hiding inside of me. The only good thing that came out of this is Edward and the guardian are out of me…but your fears about me being 'consumed' by his powers are false, Tobias. While Edward is mad, it's because he's always been like this. I…I know. After all, he's been inside of me. However just because Edward and I are somewhat connected doesn't mean I'll be consumed like he is. I'm not him. I'm not a monster. I'm just Ash Ketchum." Ash said with a smile. However, his friends weren't entirely sure about this. "You're sure you're okay, Ash?" Misty asked. Ash chuckled. "Yes Misty. And now that we have evidence on Perlis, he's going to pay without dying. This 'guardian' will be pleased by this, calming Edward down. Besides Edward is in jail so he won't bother us, and once we're long gone, Pyramid Head won't be after us. I'm not sure about this cult thing, but I'm sure the police can handle them. As for Team Rocket, well…I'm not sure, but when I see them again, they will know the true name of punishment." Ash said in a threatening way. The gang shivered.

Tobias sighed. "Well, I guess this is goodbye." He said. The gang was confused by this. "You mean you're not coming with us?" Misty asked Tobias. He shocked his head. "No. I need to go back to my own village and think about my life. I have made too many mistakes to be with you guys any more. I don't want to hurt Ash. For now, I'll be staying in the Pokémon center, working with nurse Joy until I'm ready to leave, there are still quiet a number of trainers still here like Trip who need someone like me to calm their fears since the tournament is over." He said. The gang nodded. "Well, we're going to the police station and then leaving this crazy place." Misty said. The others nodded. Tobias soon pulled out a small green ribbon and gave it to Ash. "Before I go, here's a present to try and make up for lying to you, Ash." Tobias said. Ash nodded and grabbed the ribbon. Tobias then left. Lisa soon got out a brush and brushed Ash's hair to be less of a mess. Once she was done, Ash tied his hair back into a small ponytail. Ash looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. While it made him less like a monster, he did look kind of silly. "So…am I done with being checked on, Lisa?" Ash asked. She sighed. "Yes…just…be careful." She said. The gang nodded, although were a bit confused this. Ash soon got out of bed, but wobbled. He grabbed Misty's arms and blushed. "Eheheh. Sorry about that." Ash said to Misty. Misty blushed. "I-it's okay. I just hope you're right about being okay." She said, still very worried. Ash smiled as he straightened up. "Misty, I'm sure about it. Now let's go!" Ash said. The gang nodded and then left the room. Once alone, Lisa sighed. "But you're not alright, Ash. You're still denying yourself. You're still denying what you have done and how selfish and monstrous you are. You can never be truly yourself until you accept this. However…there is another option you can take…but…it's one I know neither sides of you want. I hope you don't repeat this mistake and end up making that choice again." She said to herself, then sighed.


	13. Chapter 12

ch. 12

 **Hey, it's aura with another chapter. Now we finally reach Silent Hill. And for you who read the 'other' Silent Hill cross-over that I didn't write, this might seem familiar. Well, it's time to admit that I took inspiration by it and thought I should do my own spin on it. I didn't like how Alessa was being written, since it felt very, VERY out of character. I also didn't like the explanations and such, so...here's my story. I hope you like it.**

Ash was pondering at the bus stop as he and his friends waited on the bench. Once they had shown the video to the police, the cops wasted no time in issuing a warrant for Perlis' arrest. Ash was a little miffed that Miss Rose wasn't having a warrant put on her as well, but they had no real proof of her kidnapping him. Suddenly his silence was broken up by sirens, causing the gang to glance at the tall building that was Perlis' campaign headquarters that was at the end of the street. Police cars were now surrounding the place. Ash held his head as he looked away. He shouldn't be just sitting here. He had promised Pyramid Head that he would hunt the man down and bring him to justice. Ash shocked his head. 'I've already done that. The police are now on his trail and he will have his just desserts. He's going to pay for what he's done. Yet... I feel so... incomplete. I want to stay here. To find out what's going on and go after the maniac who did this to me. But... I shouldn't. I'm not going to hurt myself by staying here. I can't stand this place any longer.' Ash thought. However, he was still confused by some things. Pyramid Head had smuggled that evidence to the police through him... but why all the trouble? Why couldn't he just use Team Rocket to take it to them? Ash obviously knew that monster couldn't do it himself since he was a monster, but Team Rocket had done heroic things before, so why not use them? Or why hadn't he just asked and not try to hunt him and his friends down? Ash would've been glad to help bring this guy to justice, but the police seemed to have the situation under control, and right now the entire group wanted was to leave this crazy town. They had reached a limit and they were not going back. Ash sighed as he touched his chest. But...why the scar? Why give him these fangs? Why lie to Team Rocket about controlling him but still give them his Pokeballs? And what's gonna happen to Eddie? The guy was a creep, but Ash didn't feel it was right to make the man into that...beast. Ash sighed. Ash decided it was best to just settle on insanity for the reasons. He soon looked down the road again. The bus was late. When you're waiting for something impatiently, you become hypersensitive to your surroundings, hoping to hear what you're waiting for. But now that Ash thought about it, he barely heard anything at all. There was no music on the speakers, almost no milling of crowds, and no birdsongs. Just the police sirens. It was almost scary. Not to mention, his head was now pounding. It had started once he exited the hospital, but now it was very noticeable.

Misty broke the silence. "Where's that stupid bus? Did the driver leave too? What's...?" Misty impatiently asked. The gang soon noticed two people exited the building. One was Perlis, and other was Edward Hyde, however it was hard to recognize him. He was in his weird monster form with tons of hair all over his body and face, sharp fangs and nails, and a long serpent tail. He was wearing the weird butcher apron, and he was wearing a collar around his neck. Edward was holding Perlis's hands like a lost child. Edward looked scared which was an odd sight to be seen. Ash held his head. Everything was blurring. "Perlis, what is Edward doing here? Why do you have that deranged man with you? Why isn't he back in the police station?" Jenny angrily yelled. Perlis chuckled as he pulled out a device that connected him to the speakers. _"Well, that's simple Jenny…I'm done being your 'mayor'. I… AM YOUR EMPORER! I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, AND EVERYTHING WILL BELONG TO ME! EVERYTHING I SEE IS MINE, AND IF YOU DARE TRY TO DISOBEY ME, XUCHILBARA WILL PUT YOU THROUGH THE MOST HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE IMAGINBLE! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, XUCHILBARA?!"_ Perlis yelled. Edward looked at the man in happiness. _"Yes, daddy! I... I love you daddy! But… where are my…."_ Edward began to say, his voice also echoing through the speakers. He then noticed the gang and smiled. _"Misty, Cilan, Iris, Tracy, Pikachu! There you are! I've been looking all over for you. I've found my daddy!"_ He yelled, very happy to see gang. They turned their heads and saw Edward hugging the man. The gang was confused by this. "What is that monster talking about?" Iris asked. The gang had no response. The man growled as he turned his speaker off and tucked it away. He then turned to Edward.

"I told you NOT to user the speakers, Xuchilbara, you're ruining the moment!" Perlis yelled. Edward look scared. "But…but…I…I wanted to daddy…plus*Growls* WHY IS EDWARD WITH MY FRIENDS!? HE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP! JENNY EVEN SAID SO!" Edward yelled, confusing all the officers, Ash and the others were too far away to hear the yells. Perlis groaned. "Xuchilbara, focus! Stop listening to your human heart and whatever's convincing you to think that those people are your friends! You're here to be my obedient servant! NOW ATTACK THESE PEOPLE WHO DARE TRY TO ARREST US!" Perlis ordered. Edward became scared again. _"N-no! My friends are here! I can't attack them. I'm not a monster. D-daddy, why are you asking this of me?"_ Edward asked, his voice coming out of the speakers again. Perlis growled as he pulled out the remote for the collar. "I thought you thinking I was your father was going to work and you wouldn't disobey me like last time, but it seems the only way you would ever OBEY ME IS AS AN ANIMAL!" Perlis yelled. He then pressed a button Edward and Ash screamed in pain as they felt electricity coursed through their bodies. The gang became distracted as Misty held Ash. "Ash, what's the matter?" Misty asked, scared. Ash growled and pushed her away. After a few seconds, Perlis stopped and Edward and Ash sighed in relief, however Edward then glared at one of the police cars and it started to glow. Suddenly something with four wheels came the gang's way. It wasn't the bus, however, it was a blazing police car that fell from the sky, like a toy someone had chucked aside. The children gasped as it lands a few feet from them. "What's going on over there?" Iris yelled. Ash held his head. _'Now attack them all, Xuchilbara! Attack everyone who stands in our way!'_ Perlis' voice yelled. Ash breathed heavily and then growl. He then shakily stood up. _"N-NO MORE! I WON'T BE YOU'RE STUPID PET ANYMORE!"_ A voice yelled out in frustration through the speaker phones and from across the street. This voice sounded kind of like Ash's but it was obviously not the boy's. Ash growled as another roar was soon heard. "What was that?" Tracy asked, terrified. Meanwhile, Edward rushed towards Perlis, rage in his eyes. Edward roars in rage. "Xuchilbara, calm down. You are behave!" Perlis yelled as he pressed a button. Ash and Edward screamed in pain as Edward stopped. Perlis sighed as Edward lowers his head and began to breathe heavily. **'Daddy hates you. Daddy despites you. Kill him. Kill all of them! THEY MUST PAY!'** The words echoed in Ash's and Edward's minds.

Edward roared, _"NO! I WON'T BEHAVE! YOU'RE NOT DADDY! You… YOU'RE AN IMPOSTER! I'M GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! YOU ALL ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!"_ Edward soon ripped the collar off. Perlis freaked and ran inside. And just at that moment, the pain subsided in Ash's and Edward's minds. Edward looks at the cops and monstrously smiles. Suddenly the place was full of skin crawling laughter. _"HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_ A new voice said out of the speakers. It then calm down to a chuckle. _"Sorry about that my dear people. Just a little feud between me and a man who dared tried to keep me a prisoner. He didn't get the idea that you should **never** try to contain what is uncontrollable. And now...heheheh...No one can stop me. Not Tobias, not Perlis, not the Police, NOT ANYONE! The whole mayor nonsense was small potatoes compared to the freedom I'm going to give Pokémon and humans alike. Soon the world will return to its rightful state. I've got REAL power now!"_ The voice said. Ash soon recognized the voice. It was Eddie's. He had fully snapped. Ash looked at his friends who were all scared, however, Ash oddly didn't feel the same thing. He felt…happy…and it scared him. _"I AM the REAL EMPORER! This is MY city!_ _ **And here's what happens to people who try to stop ME!"**_ Another car flew off into the distance. And another. They were all chucked like toys in every direction. Another one came in the direction of the children, and exploded just a few feet away from them, the occupant still inside. "Oh no!" Tracy said as they got up. Ash grabbed Misty by the hand. Thankfully he was starting to feel like his normal self again.

"We've gotta get some cover, or we'll get crushed by those cars!" Ash said. No-one argued, exiting the bus stop as fast as they could. Another car soon came rolling down the street. Officer Jenny was inside the thing but was able to clamber out and ran away as fast as her legs could carry. The children weren't sure exactly where they were running, but they had to get away from the hailing cars and the mad man that was tossing aside before they got crushed. Ash growled at this. 'This is my fault. I should've went after Perlis myself instead of letting the police handle this. Now Edward is more powerful than ever and is wrecking everything…I…I wish daddy was with me. He would know what to do…he…he's not Perlis. He's not a monster…daddy…daddy please save me.' Ash thought as he became scared. Edward's thoughts were entering Ash's mind, making it hard for Ash to tell what he was thinking. Ash soon saw a cop car that was on the ground, not burning thankfully. "Over here!" Ash ordered. The gang soon hide behind the car. Ash breathed heavily. 'This is getting nuts…we…we have to escape this place and fast…I…I'm scared daddy.' Ash thought.

(Meanwhile.)

Jessie, James and Meowth were hiding behind a telephone booth, hoping Edward wouldn't throw a car their way, or that it did, it couldn't reach them before it stopped. Jessie glares at the twerps behind the cop car. They were about a few feet away. James and Meowth were terrified by this although they didn't know what was going on at Perlis' building. "Jess, we need to get outta here!" James yelled. Jessie turned towards her friends and growled as she pointed her finger at James. "This was your plan! Oh, let's help the creepy guy who has a pyramid helmet. Nothing bad will happen. WELL, I am NOT leaving without Pikachu! I'm not!" Jessie yelled. She was holding the large book Pyramid Head gave her. "Are you out of your mind, Jess?" James asked in fear. Jessie growled. "It's da fear, it's getting to her!" Meowth said. She looked at the three. "We SWORE that we would get Pikachu this time! You swore it! Besides, I have one trick left for both the twerp. We'll control him, one way or another." She said. She opened the pages. "But you don't know how to do magic! It won't work!" Meowth yelled. She smirks. "I don't, but that plate has enough power to do it. Okay...Un De Trak, de murk Don taw mar. Tra peck de jerk de Muenster ya!" She yelled out. She hadn't really read the description of the spell, but it mentioned controlling the Xuchilbara's heart, and since the cult people kept saying that Ash was that, she decided this was her best choice. And once that chant was yelled out, Ash felt his chest blare up. Ash and Eddie screamed in pain. The gang was surprised by Ash's sudden yell. Ash let out a monstrous roar and then fainted. Misty caught Ash before he fell to the ground. Misty and the others were scared. "Ash!" Misty yelled, however, Ash couldn't respond. His chest was burning, his mind was becoming foggier by the minute, and it wasn't stopping any time soon. The gang looked to the source of the sound and saw Team Rocket in the distance. Misty growled. "You! What are guys doing here? Are you responsible for this, too?" Iris yelled. Jessie blinked.

"Uh oh, the twerps spotted us." Meowth said, scared. They hadn't noticed that a fog began to form around them. Suddenly another scream was heard. They turned around and saw that it was Eddie and he was in equal pain. Suddenly a loud siren rang through the air, clearing everyone's heads and making the gang remember Team Rocket. The group glared at the aggravating trio. Ash and Edward soon let out a howl that made everyone's skin crawl. After a few seconds, Ash's eyes opened and he got up. Jessie smiled. "Why yes, and now that the spell has been activated, we can finally control the twerp just like that pyramid head guy said we could." Jessie said. Misty then let out a small laugh. "HA! Ash could never be control so easily! Isn't that right, Ash?" Misty said with gusto. However it was deflated as Ash walked over to Jessie. As he walked, the fog becomes denser. "Alright twerp. Give us Pikachu. Oh, and when you're done, take your friends as well." Jessie said with a smile. Pikachu growled at the woman as the boy looked down. She blinked. "Huh?" She said. Suddenly the speakers busted with static. The gangs soon covered their ears. After a few seconds, it stopped, allowing the gangs to uncover their ears. **"You are not my empress. I do not take orders from you.** **"** A monstrous voice hissed. Jessie was taken aback by this. He sounded like Pyramid Head. "B-but the book and Pyramid Head said that it would." She said, confused as she looked around. Ash evilly smiled. He soon grabbed her neck as began to strangle her. **"Hahahaha. You honestly thought that spell could control me? Ha! That spell does not control me. It unlocks me and frees my powers. The controlling is only done by my empress, which you are not. So, be gone or WE will destroy you!"** The voice yelled. Ash lets go and holds his head. "No…No! I'm not a monster! Stop it! Daddy…daddy please… help me!" Ash cried out, trying to control himself. His friends rush over to him. Jessie gasped as she recovered from the strangle. "Time is short and life is sweet, but we've...got an appointment. Let's go!" James said as he grabbed Meowth and Jessie and then ran away, although in the direction TOWARDS Edward. Although, they couldn't tell thanks to the fog. "Huh... Wasn't it sunny a minute ago?" James asked as he noticed the fog. Jessie frowned. "I don't care. Let's book it before the twerp comes to his sense." Jessie yelled. James sighed.

(Meanwhile)

The group grabbed Ash and continued to run, although they couldn't see more than a few meters in front of them. Not only had some strange fog appeared, but it also had gotten darker. But that didn't stop them. They had to get Ash to safety. Hell maybe even the hospital again. They suspected Edward was controlling him again and knew the best thing to do was run. After a bit of running, the gang stopped and panted. They looked around. Everything around them faded into the grey shadows. What more, nobody seemed to be around. Yoka village had been so vibrant when they first arrive, now it seemed...dead. Beyond dead. It was very chilling. Ash rubbed his head as he fully regains control. "Ugh. My head. What...what happened? Where are we?" Ash asked. Everyone looked around. "Ugh... We're lost. That's what." Misty said, annoyed. Tracy squinted and faintly made out a few houses. "I think we're in the residential area. But where are all the residents? And how did we get from the commercial area to the residential area without noticing we went on the bridge or going past the Pokémon center or the coliseum?" Tracy asked. Misty looked around. "Probably gone with everyone else. Jenny did say that a few had already taken the bus with the trainers." Misty said, then groaned, "Like _we_ should've been a long time ago. But since we didn't, we got to see the damage Eddie has created. As for how we got here of all places, we did run quiet a long way, plus this fog was in the way so we couldn't see exactly where we were going. So that's probably how we got here." Ash tilted his head. "Um…guys you still haven't answered my question." Ash said, annoyed. Iris sighed.

"Ash, we don't know, okay. Team Rocket said they put a magic spell on you, then you started acting crazy, probably Edward's craziness effecting you again, then a stranger's voice…I think it was the guardian's voice… said that they 'freed' him, and then threatened them as you strangled Jessie. I don't know what the hell happened but it feels like we've drove into nuts city," Iris said, very confused. Cilan nodded. "The guardian also mentioned an 'empress', but we have no idea what he meant by that." Cilan said. Ash held his head as he felt a strong urge to kill. "Do you think the guardian possessed me? I...I kind of had dreams about this 'empress', but I don't remember much about it." Ash asked. Misty sighed. "I don't know. It could've been him or Edward. They are partially the same person, just the guardian is more about 'justice' than Edward." Misty said. Ash sighed. "Yeah, who knows what the guardian can do. Maybe he created this fog as well." Ash said. The group nodded. Ash held himself. "But…what about Pyramid Head? Is…Is he a creature made by Edward and the guardian? Is Pyramid Head the guardian? Is he just a monster? What about that nurse thing I saw? Did Edward make that? Ugh! MY HEAD!" Ash yelled as the pain worsened. The urge to kill was increasing dramatically. Ash felt himself losing a battle against this urge…this…animal. Ash shocked the feeling away. He wasn't going to lose. Not to this animal, not to Edward or anybody. Ash soon noticed something in the fog. "Hey, somebody's coming!" Ash pointed towards something in the fog. A person roughly their size was running towards them at top speed. As he came closer, it became clear he was a Pokémon Trainer, with a torn jacket, a bloody shirt, and an expression of absolute horror. "RUN!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "RUN! THEY'RE NOT POKEMON! THEY'RE NOT-" He never finished. Out of the fog erupted a hug cat-like creature, leaping onto the luckless trainer's back. Before he had even hit the ground, sharp fangs tore into the back of his neck. The trainer let out a final scream before hitting the ground, never to get up again. Before the horrified eyes of Ash and his friends, a promising trainer's life had been violently ended. Just like that.

The boy's killer glanced up, blood still dripping from its mouth. The monster was a huge cat creature. Bloody bandages had been haphazardly sewn over the body and white fur. A black knife like tail hung behind its legs. The claws of the cat were unnaturally long. The creature's face was a 'human's' face; haft of its face was covered in bloody bandages, and it's free eye was blood red. And it had a huge mechanical horn blade shaped like a sickle had been thrusted into the side of the creature's head forcefully. It then saw the group. Stepping over the fresh kill as if it was nothing important, the monster stalked towards the terrified group. It almost seemed to be smiling with anticipation, every one of its teeth showing. Pikachu didn't wait for a command. "Pika CHUUUU!" A powerful Thunderbolt blasted into the cat-thing. The monster spammed and staggered for a second then got itself back up and snarled ferociously. "Axew Dragon Breath!" Iris ordered. Axew popped out of Iris' hair and fires a blue flame. It hits the big cat creature. It stammers back, but then looked forward. Tracy whipped out one of his Pokeballs. "Azumarill, GO!" He threw the orb into the air… And it fell right back down to the ground. The ball wriggled desperately, showing that the occupant was trying to get out, but the Pokeball would simply not open. "Wha…?" Tracy said. This was the first time any of them had seen anything like this. The cat monster gave something that resembled a guttural snicker. Then, the horrible creature leapt at Tracy with its claws down and teeth bore. The children shrieked in terror, suddenly realizing this could easily be their last day on earth. Pikachu intercepted the monster with a powerful Electroball. The burned monster was blasted far away, rolling onto the sidewalk several feet away from the group. Pikachu skillfully landed on his feet in front of the children.

The creature tried to bring itself back onto its feet, but a thunderbolt convinced it to flee. The monster vanished into the fog. Ash regained his breath and composure. "Th-thanks, buddy." Ash said. Tracy picked up his Pokeball as Cilan and Iris looked at the fallen trainer. Tracy tapped the release button without any effect, a troubled expression on his face. "That's weird…" He said. He tried another Pokeball. But it wouldn't open either. Misty checked their own Pokeballs. She found, to their growing alarm, that none of them were opening. It was as if the balls have been sealed. Misty and Tracy were starting to get very worried. Iris and Cilan tried to open their Pokeballs, and found the same results. Ash growled. He hated this. Not only were his Pokeballs stolen, but even if he had them, he could do nothing with them. Cilan then looked at the attacked trainer. There was nothing he or anyone else could do except close his eyes. Iris looked at the others. They were all distraught about what was happening. Stuff like this never happened, it wasn't supposed to happen, it couldn't happen… Cilan looked away from the corpse. His eyes grew wide and he saw something in the distance. "G-G-G-G-G-GUUUYYYS!" Cilan yelled. Everyone looked up and gasped. The cat monster had returned, and it wasn't alone. More horrors came lumbering out of the fog. They looked every bit as twisted and unnatural as the cat monster. The monsters were large scorpion like creatures. They had metal pitchers, pitch black eyes, razor sharp teeth, a long sharp stinger tail, and hard, rock like shell that was broken in several places, showing that the inside were made out flesh. The cat creature in the lead smiled hideously. The trainers frantically pressed the buttons on their Pokeballs, but it became terribly clear that their teams couldn't aid them this time. Their Pokémon stayed sealed in the orbs. The creatures came in even closer. The group turned around, but there were even more scorpion and cat creatures behind them. They let out the most horrible sounds of amusement and anticipation as they closed in on the frightened group. The children huddled together, praying that they would survive. Their chances didn't look good at all. There was nothing else, human or Pokémon, to aid them this time. It was just them and the monsters.

 **BLAM!**

The sudden loud noise made the creatures stop in their tracks. Cilan covered his ears quickly, surprised by the deafening sound. It was just in time too, as another shot rang out.

 **BLAM!**

This one sounded closer.

Iris looked towards where the noise was coming from. She could faintly make out a very human figure towards them from one of the houses. He yelled threateningly before firing his rifle again, "GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Another shot. One of the larger monsters shrieked in response and fell to the ground. The other creatures began to disperse, running off into the grayness. The cat creature snarled angrily at the man. The man clicked his gun again, and the skinny killer fled. The group looked up at their savior. They could barely see him in the fog. He only beckoned them to come with him, "Hurry! Before more show up!" They needed no second bidding. The group followed the man into his house. Once they were all inside, the door was slammed shut and locked. Ash and his friends tried to catch their breaths. "You kids alright?" He asked. Ash looked up at the man who had save their lives. He was tall man, not particularly fat or thin. He wore small glasses were perched over deep brown eyes. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and was tied in a small pony tail. He had a hooked nose and white skin. His clothes were nondescript, a weathered coat and jeans. He was someone who wouldn't really be noticed under normal circumstances. Right now, he was the greatest person in the world. Although, he did look familiar to Ash. Misty swiftly wrapped her arms around the man, squealing in sheer joy, "Thank you so much! Thank you!" The savior smiled warmly. "You're…you're welcome. Heh." He said. The gang smiled. "Yeah, thanks so much mister. You saved our hides." Tracy said. The 'mister' chuckled and patted the Ash's head reassuringly. "It's alright now." He said. It was alright, everyone mentally repeated. The terror that had just happened was past…for now.

Iris soon sat by the covered window, trying to stop her knees from shaking. Cilan sat down on a nearby couch, almost exhausted. Ash held a shaking Pikachu in his lap, trying to calm them both down as he stood by the window. And Tracy was sitting in a chair. Misty released the man, who gasped for breath for a moment. Misty blushed. "Sorry about that." She said. The man smiled. "I-It's okay. Besides, after what happened, its understandable to be so nervous." He said. Misty sighed and took a seat next to Tracy. "Anyways, if you're thirsty, there's some juice in the fridge." The man said. Ash stood up. "I'll get it." Ash volunteered, Pikachu hopping on his shoulder. "Where's the kitchen, mister…" Ash said. The man soon realized that he didn't introduce himself. "Oh…Henry. My name's Henry." Henry said in embarrassment. Misty looked at him. "Henry? As...as in Dr. Henry? The same man who helped save Ash?" Misty repeated; the name was familiar to her for some reason. Henry smiled. "Why yes, actually. I am that same man. Although I'm still a newbie so I didn't do much during Ash's procedure." Henry said. The gang smiled. "Thank you for saving us, Henry." Misty said. He smiled back. "No problem. I saw you being threatened by those… creatures and I felt I should help. What were those things anyways? I've never seen beasts like those before." He asked. Ash shrugged. "We don't know." Ash answered, "Anyways, where's the kitchen?" The man soon realized this. "Oh yeah, it's over there," Henry said as he pointed towards a door in the house. Ash walked over, shacking just a little. Henry shook his head. "First the mayor goes nut and unleased that monster that was once Edward, then this fog appears, and now these monsters are roaming the streets. It's like some kind of bad dream." Henry said. Ash smirked. "Yeah and I wanna wake up soon." Ash said. Cilan suddenly remembered his manners. "Oh, forgive us for not introducing ourselves; I'm Cilan, by the way." Cilan introduced himself. Misty looked at him. "My name's Misty." Misty said. Iris smiled. "Iris and this is Axew." Iris said. Axew soon said hello. Tracy smiled. "And I'm Tracy." Tracy said. Ash soon entered the kitchen. "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu." Ash answered from his position just outside the kitchen. The man smiled. "It's nice to meet you all." Henry said. He turned to Ash curiously. "Ash…that's an interesting name." He said. Ash shrugged as he opened the fridge door.

"Ash…" Henry mused, as if trying to remember something, "Where do you live?" Ash became confused as he opened the fridge. "Uh, Pallet town. Why?" Ash asked. Henry's eyes grew wide. "Pallet town…" He said. This caused Ash to be curious. "You ever been there before?" Ash asked as he took some juice boxes from the fridge. Henry nodded. "Yeah…yeah I have. A long time ago." He said. Ash closed the fridge door. "Really? That's…" It was then Ash noticed something on the fridge door. Something that made his eyes grow wide. He simply stared at it for a minute, not making a sound. "Ash?" Misty asked. Ash blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It couldn't be…could it? He took the flat thing off the door and brought it up to his face. Forgotten juice boxes clattered on the floor. "Ash? What is it?" Iris asked. Ash numbly stepped out of the kitchen, holding the thing in front of his face. Then he looked at Henry and turned the thing around so everyone could see it. It was a picture, custom made to be a fridge magnet. Henry was in it, but in a snappy black tuxedo. Beside him was a young woman with red-brown hair in a gorgeous wedding dress. Both were beaming with happiness. Ash knew the woman. "That's my mom…" Ash said. Everyone's eyes went wide. There was a total silence. Everyone looked at Henry as what Ash was saying sunk in. The man lowered his head slightly and smiled. "Ash Ketchum. I don't remember you ever having blonde hair the last time I saw you and your mother." He said. The boy's eyes grew even wider than before. His mouth fell open in shock, uttering a single word. "…Dad?" Ash asked. Henry didn't contradict it, and that was enough of an answer for Ash. "DAD!" Before anyone could blink, Ash was wrapped his arms around his long-lost father. Tears of joy were in his young eyes. Henry returned the hug, not saying a word. No-one dared to break the silence this time, leaving the two to their reunion.

It was a long time before Ash finally spoke again. "I can't believe it, I…It's unbelievable! I always hoped for this…" Ash said, digging his face into the man's chest. The man smiled. "Me too…" Henry said. He sighed. "We got so much to talk about…" Henry said in shame. Ash looked at the man with a happy smile. "Yeah, like…" Ash said. Ash removed his arms, a confused expression on his face. He felt so many different emotions as he looked at his father. "Like…why did you go? Why'd I never hear from you? Why did you become a doctor?" Ash asked. Henry gulped in shame. Ash's expression became even more troubled, almost angry. "Why did you just leave _us_? Why didn't I ever…?" Ash asked. Suddenly Misty shushed him. Ash turned a furious eye at Misty. "WHAT!?" He yelled. Misty turned to the window. "QUITE! Do you guys hear something?" She asked. Ash seethed in frustration, but didn't say anything. No-one else did, and sure enough, there was a noise. Distant, distorted barking. Ash gasped. He had heard that noise from outside his door the night before he was kidnapped… Misty peered through the blinds. Almost immediately, she screamed in panic, "OH MY ARCEUS!" Everyone looked at her. "What?" Iris demanded, starting to panic as well. Ash ran to the window and pulled two blinds apart. What he saw was even more terrifying than the cat creature. Monstrous dogs were approaching the house, barking and snarling like eager hounds on the trail of a fox. They had to be close for Ash to react like this. And right behind them was the unmistakable silhouette of Pyramid Head. Pointed helmet and all. Ash whirled around. "It's the killer from the butcher shop! We gotta get out of here!" Ash yelled. Everyone gasped. The barking grew even louder until it was almost at the door. "I got a car back here, c'mon!" Henry said. He turned and ran, the children following him down one of the hallways. Ash chanced a backwards glance. The door rattled on its lock for a moment, and then the colossal blade of Pyramid Head stabbed through the door. Ash didn't watch any more, hurrying to catch up to his friends and father. The panicked group tore through a hallway that seemed far too long to a wooden doorway leading to the garage. They could hear the front door shattering behind them. The most hideous barking began to close in on them with the unmistakable pitter-patter of clawed paws on the floor…

Ash, who was at the rear of the group, whirled around and saw what looked like a skinned dog without eyes or ears charge towards them. Without thinking, Ash grabbed a baseball bat that was conveniently nearby. It was just in time…the dog leapt at the boy, all its sharp teeth ready to kill. **WACK!** The dog was smashed back by the bat, forced into a picture frame on the wall. It crumpled to the floor, stunned. Two other dogs paused at the entrance of the hallway on seeing their comrade knocked out. One was completely made out of bones with two large horns on its head and a long devil like tail. The other one could've passed for a normal dog covered in bandages if its head had not been split down the middle. "ASH!" Misty yelled. The boy didn't stick around to confront the other dogs, or their master. He turned and bolted the door, being sure to slam it behind him. The lock was turned, although they all felt it was a futile gesture. The wood ratter as multiple creatures smashed into it. Henry's red truck was large enough to fit all of them, and they hurriedly packed themselves inside. Henry got himself into the driver's seat, and with the punch of a button, began to open the garage door. Ash placed himself beside his father, and everyone buckled their seatbelts. The garage door creeped open. The door to the house was bashed repeatedly by Pyramid Head's dogs.

 **Bangbangbangbang!**

It was inevitable that their master would get weary and use his knife. The garage door was about half open now. The engine of the truck was running now, ready to bolt at the soonest opportunity. The children's eyes kept darting back and forth between the slowly opening door and the door that wouldn't remain closed for long. The garage door was three quarters open. A huge sheet of metal appeared through the smaller door. "To hell with it." Henry said. He decided. Placing the truck in reverse, the man slammed his foot on the accelerator. The bottom part of the garage door was sheared off by the retreating vehicle. Henry's truck barreled backwards onto the street, and with some speedy gear action, the red truck was driving down the street, through the fog, past the monsters, away from Henry's house. Ash glanced in the rear-view mirror. Pyramid Head ran into the street, staring at the escaping vehicle without giving any chase. The boy watched his shrinking shadow vanish into the fog. He sighed in relief. But then remembered this wasn't the first time he thought he saw the last of the helmeted man. The drive was hardly uneventful. The monstrosities seemed to be constantly congregating on the truck, but they were able to outrun every one. They all snarled in frustration and fury, swiping at the truck with claws and beating it with their claws. But eventually, a sign appeared from the fog, carrying a message everyone was glad to receive. "You are now leaving Yoka Village." No-one liked what they saw underneath. "Hope you enjoyed your stay! Come back soon." That was the last thing anyone in truck wanted to do, as they drove out of Yoka Village, planning never to return. Meanwhile, Pyramid Head smashed his spear onto the ground in pure frustration. His dogs fled, not wanted to be near their master when he was in this mod. A loud sigh came from the iron helmet. The boy was gone, yet Eddie and Perlis were still around. He couldn't have that. With that in mind, the huge helmeted man soon disappeared in the fog with a specific destination in mind. The boy was **not** going to leave.


	14. Chapter 13

ch. 13

 **Hey it's aura and now things get deeper as we get a bit of lore and things go from bad to worse. Hope you like this chapter.**

The night was dark and refreshingly calm. The fog was still present so Henry had to turn on his powerful car lights. Now that they were out of Yoka village, the creatures hadn't fallowed Henry's truck. The group was relaxed for the first time in what seemed like ages. They weren't asleep though as they recalled the bus had gone through several twists and turns to get to Yoka Village so they felt it would be some time before they were any real distance from the cursed town. Of course, they were going down a different path than what the bus took so who knew how long this route was going to take. Ash gazed blankly out the window at the shadowed forest they were riding past. The silence in the car was palpable and uncomfortable. Henry glanced at his quiet son, not sure if he should start a conversation just now. Ash finally broke the silence. "You never called." Ash coldly said. Henry sighed. "I'm sorry." He said. Ash clenched his fist. "Why didn't you call?" Ash asked. Henry tensed up. "I... I got caught up in my journey." Henry said. Ash growled. "So caught up you just forgot about us? So caught up that you decided to become a doctor!?" Ash angrily asked as he turned towards his father. Misty growled. "Hey, you're just as bad! How many years have Butterfree, Primeape, and Pidgeot been waiting for you?" Misty jabbed at the boy. Ash clutched his fists. "I don't know where Butterfree is, Pidgeot is busy with Fearow, and Primeape is busy with competitions! I can't easily hunt them down! Dad on the other hand didn't have that problem!" Ash snapped back. Misty sinked back into her seat as Ash glared at her, his eyes full of furry. "Don't critize me until it's happened to you." Henry replied as calmly as he could, "You get so focused on accomplishing your dreams, everything else becomes… Peripheral. You get closer and closer and you forget about everything... and everyone around you." Ash simply exhaled and turned back to the window. "Ten years? That's a long time to have just forgotten," Ash said. Iris frowned. "Ash, you never even thought about your father until we brought it up. You shouldn't be judging him like this," Iris said. Ash snarled. "I didn't know who he was!" Ash yelled. Iris groaned at Ash's behavior. "You didn't realize that until we brought it up to distract you from Ed..." Iris said. Ash slams his fists on the front desk, making a large dent. "SHUT UP! I don't wanna hear about EDDIE!" Ash snapped. There was a stunned silence after this outburst. Henry kept driving, keeping his eyes on the road. Ash groaned and watched out the window.

After a while, Henry spoke up again, a little harshly, "Did you even try to find me?" Ash didn't answer, staring hard at his reflection. Then he lowered his head and acknowledged the truth. "No." Ash said. Henry and Iris were right...he shouldn't have judged his father when he had done the same thing. Henry didn't need to reply. There was yet another silence. It was starting to get tiresome. "Ash...why is your hair and teeth are like...that?" Henry asked. Ash sighed. "That monster that was chasing us did this to me. He...he somehow made my teeth monstrous. As for the ribbon…well…Tobias gave me it as an apology… I… I feel comfortable wearing it." Ash said. Ash turned to his father. "So, what did you wanna be?" Ash asked. Henry smiled a little. "I wanted to challenge the champion of each region. Didn't really care if I would win or lose, just... be able to face them." Henry said. Ash smiled back. "I'm gonna be the greatest Pokémon Master in the world!" Ash excitedly said, his regular energy finally returning to him. Henry chuckles a little. "You will be one day. I can tell." Henry said. Ash laughed, at ease again. "That's what mom tells me." Ash said. Henry looked down. "How is she?" Henry asked. Ash smiled. "Great. Just great." Ash said. The man looked up. "She's a great person. That's why I married her." Henry said. Ash nodded. "Yeah, I can tell." Ash said, "She probably thought so too. With...you I mean." Henry smiled, and then turned his attention back on the road. "Thanks, son." He said. The group in the back sighed with relief. It had been as if the fog in town had still been hanging over them. Now it passed away, and they could relax again. "Dad...I…I wanna tell you all about my journey…" Ash began to say. Henry sighed. "Ash, not now. We'll catch up when we get to the next town." Henry said.

"Alright." Ash said, "I got so much to tell you." Henry smiled. "Me too." He replied. Now that that was settled, Iris leaned forward and asked a question that had been on her mind since the drive began, but she didn't feel like saying due to the situation. "Well, my home village is nearby. Why don't we turn up the radio? Maybe we can learn something new." Iris said. Ash and Henry gave her identical looks of confusion. Iris smiled sheepishly and sat back down. Henry chuckled slightly and switched the car radio on. There was nothing but a loud static. Ash quickly turned down the volume and began adjusting the station knob. It took him a while to find a station that wasn't simply crackling with more electronic noise. "Signal should be better than this..." Henry muttered. Tracy sighed. "The monsters probably damaged the antenna while we were..." Tracy said, but was suddenly silenced by a snarl made by Ash. "Tracy, be quiet," Ash interrupted, "Here we go." Ash smiled as he had found a working, clear signal now. There was a brief piano riff, simple but forceful. And then a voice began talking, _**"Good evening, children. Tonight, I'm going to tell you a story that is old but new."**_ The voice on the radio was deep, powerful and intimidating, even though it came from a small metal box. The words rumbled like an earthquake. Anyone who heard this voice would connect it to someone very dangerous. This wasn't a voice that would normally be associated with telling children's stories. _**"This story of the Empress and the Executioner."**_ The voice said, making the gang shiver.

"I'm really not in the mood for a story," Iris said. Ash understood, and then turned the station knob. The voice continued, apparently ignoring what the boy was doing. Henry glanced down before checking the way. _**"Once upon a time, there was a kingdom in the midst of a great forest besides a silent lake. A kingdom of iron and steel, on lands blessed by the gods."**_ The voice continued. The gang was confused by this. "Huh?" Ash said. He twisted the knob again. It didn't do anything to interrupt the storyteller with the deep voice. _**"Ruling over this land was a young Empress. She ruled with justice and wisdom. All who obeyed the laws and pleased the Empress lived in peace. All who did not were silenced by the Executioner, the most loyal subject of the Empress. He was once an evil monster who terrorized the people and destroyed everything he saw, but the Empress showed him his true purpose. Giving justice to all the filth that dared to go against the gods."**_ Everyone was starting to get disturbed now. Ash was tapping the volume and power on the radio now, but the storyteller simply would not be quieted or interrupted. _**"All was well in this kingdom, until one day, the empress's mother tried to get her ready to birth god. However, she was not ready. The executioner used a human to free her from the mother's plans. But the empress was too weak to fight back, so she ran off and for 7 long years, the executioner was alone. The executioner took this chance to punish anyone who dared commit a massive sin, but without the empress, he felt hallow inside. When she finally returned, her body was finally ready to birth paradise, however she was still resisting. Thankfully her 'father' was able to capture her before she could ruin the ceremony. However, in the end the 'father' and another man betrayed them. The executioner was helpless as he watched the 'father' killed the god. The Executioner was devistated by this and became weak. It could not handle the pain it was feeling… but… it didn't have to suffer alone this time.**_

" _ **A young boy came into town not that long after the empress left. He was much like the previous human the executioner used. Pathetic, weak, and crying out for one of his parental parents. The executioner made a deal with the small boy. He would live in the boy and make him the 'best there ever was' and the boy would keep the executioner from becoming the beast. After several years, an evil king and an evil duke came from a faraway land to take the power from the Empress and turn the Executioner back into the monster. The executor tried to save himself, but it was too late, a part of him was lost back to being the beast it once was. Thankfully, he was not fully gone, he was just 'distracted' by his fears and lies, and the empress is far off in a distant land where the evil king cannot reach her. But the tale isn't over. Not until the evil king dies and the other half is restored."**_ The voice stopped there, and the occupants of the car all stared at the radio for a moment. "That was weird." Iris said. The others nodded. "Yeah." Cilan agreed. Ash sighed as he looked at the radio. "Wonder what's wrong with the radi-" Ash asked.

 _ **"Do you honestly think that you will just LEAVE, boy?"**_ It snarled. Ash looked up. "DAD, THE ROAD!" Ash yelled. Henry whipped his gaze back onto the roadway. He saw it through the darkness and fog. Someone or something was standing in the middle of the road, waiting. Something huge. Henry swerved the truck to miss, spinning the steering wheel to evade the obstacle without falling off the road into the woods. He would've succeeded if the 'obstacle' hadn't leapt onto his hood like a lion. Ash looked up and screamed. Standing on the truck's engine, visible through the windshield, was Pyramid Head. The iron spear smashed through the window, shattering the glass and sprinkling fragments into the car. Henry gasped and reared back in panic as the point wedge itself firmly in the steering wheel. Pyramid Head twisted his spear, turning the steering wheel sharply to the right. The car turned just as sharply. Before anyone could do anything, Henry's truck had smashed through the road barricade and plummeted into the woods. That was the last thing the children remembered before blacking out.

...

Ash groaned as he got up and looked around. He was in the middle of a dark area covered in white fog so it was hard to tell where he was. "D-dad?" Ash called out. He looked around frantically. He held himself. "D-DADDY, WHERE ARE YOU!?" Ash called out in fear. However, no one was around. He suddenly heard a noise behind him. "Daddy?" Ash asked as he turned around. He quickly saw a mirror and in the reflection was Henry. He was being held by Edward Hyde. "Daddy!" Ash yelled in fear as he rushed to the mirror. Ash pounded the mirror. "Let go of him you monster!" Ash yelled, anger filling his soul. Suddenly Ash felt a presence behind him, however before he could do anything, a man grabbed him from behind and held him. **"Now, now boy. No need to fret about your dear 'daddy'. He'll be fine. He's right with us. However, if you really want him back, you have a lot of things to remember. To relearn what we forgot long ago. Otherwise, that 'monster' you fear about will destroy everything."** The radio man's voice said. Ash began to struggle. "Let go of me! I need to help him! DADDY!" Ash roared, the pain in his chest growing. The man chuckled. **"Then stopped the monster. Go place of cheers and laughter at the moment. That's where this lesson begins…"** The monster said. Ash growled. "Stop it! He's right here! I…I can reach him! Just let go of me!" Ash screamed. The monster chuckled as he let go of the boy. **"Alright, but remember, there is more to this story than just your daddy."** He said. Ash rushed over to the mirror and touched it. Ash smiled as the mirror glowed. After a few seconds everything was consumed in white.

…

Pikachu nudged his master awake. The first thing Ash saw when he groggily opened his eyes was the empty driver's seat above him. It took him a minute to figure out he was lying on the passenger window, suspended by his seatbelt. He shook his head clear and looked again. His father was still gone when he blinked again. The seat belt had been torn, and the driver door had been ripped off. Behind it was nothing but that grey mist. "D-dad…?" He mumbled like in his dream, hoping somehow that Henry was still nearby. Hoping that he would reply. He didn't. The silence woke him up. The boy hastily unbuckled his seatbelt and promptly fell onto the passenger widow with Pikachu. The boy groaned. The truck was on its side. If he was going to get out, he'd have to climb up to the driver's side and get out the hole. Gripping the seats, the trainer pulled himself up with some effort. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder as they heroically hoisted themselves towards the exit. When they got on the driver's seat, a loud creaking noise stopped them. No, not a creaking….it was as if the truck itself was moaning. "Ulp…" It said. Ash's entire world rotated 45 degrees as the truck fell back onto its bell. The truck slammed loudly on the gravelly ground, jarring the other occupants of the car. 'The others!' Ash realized as he remembered that he wasn't alone. Ash felt absolutely ashamed that he had forgotten about them. When the vehicle had settled back on the ground, Ash clambered between the seats to look in the back. Misty, Tracy, Iris, Cilan. They were all still there! And judging by the way they were all groaning and shifting, they were still alive. 'Thank god.' Ash thought as he sighed in relief. Ash soon focused. "Guys! Guys, wake up!" Ash yelled. Iris opened her eyes first. "A-Ash? What…happened? What was that noise?" She asked. Cilan blinked, still only haft asleep. "Ugh. Man that was a rough trip." Cilan said. Tracy groaned himself awake. "Is everyone alright?" He asked. Misty shocked her head clear. "I think so…" She said as she woke up. She looked at Ash and noticed the fear in his eyes. "Ash? What's wrong?" She asked. Ash clenched his hands. "H-Henry…my dad's gone! I…I don't know where he is! We need to find him!" Ash answered frantically. Suddenly remembering that, he turned and tumbled out of the hole where the car's door had once been. He hit sand…no, gravel. But the kind you'd find beside water. Ash got himself up to his feet and looked up and out. The fog still hadn't cleared, weighing down on the boy's mind and hope. After a few seconds of his eyes adjusting to the light, he could see a dock and on that dock was something that made him happy. A rowboat appeared in the fog, and Ash realized they were right beside a huge lake.

Ash stared out at the water for a while. Eventually he figured out what was on the other side of the lake. He could faintly make out the lights of Yoka Village's amusement park. Ash soon remembered the dream from a long time ago. The dream of Silent hill and where Pyramid Head came from. He remembers the crazy story ride and it's talk of god, the monster killing Misty, and him facing against the Darkrai that caused that mess. This…this was no dream, and there were monsters. But…why was Yoka so similar to Silent Hill? Ash held his head. Yoka Village. Pyramid Head. Eddie. Ash soon realized what had happened to his father. The shock of it all forced him to sit numbly on the shore and put his hands down. Tears began to well up in his eyes, his head sinking. He had finally met his father after so many years, and he had been taken away from him before he could truly reconnect. How could he describe it? It…it was like a part of him had been ripped away, a part he had only just discovered. As if the world was hell-bent on keeping him from becoming whole. Ash's gaze fell upon his reflection in the still water. His face warped into a furious scowl when he saw Eddie in his reflection. The boy smashed his fist into the water, but the way it rippled, it looked like Eddie was laughing at his pain. Ash snarled as his rage grew. "Ash…?" A voice asked. Ash whirled around and saw Misty behind him. He gasped for breath and tried his best to regain his composure, having been seconds away from a violent outburst at his friend. The boy gulped hard. He didn't want to hurt her. He then looked at the lake. "He took him… Pyramid Head took him, I know it. I didn't even get to know him. What did I ever do to him to deserve this to them, what, why…" Ash babbled, confused and scared. Misty put a comforting hand on Ash's shoulder, not saying anything. Ash tried no to sob and failed.

Meanwhile, Cilan and Iris looked over the truck while Tracy was looking at their supplies. The truck had been gutted for lack of a better word. The door was gone, Henry's weapon and Ash's bat were gone, and the engine had been torn out. The tires were ripped off, and the underside of the vehicle was nothing more than a mangled mess of metal. This truck would never drive again. Iris kicked at it designingly. "Now what do we do?" Iris asked as she looked at Cilan. However, Cilan didn't have an answer for her. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's lap, however he didn't notice, still staring out at the distant lights of the cursed town. The boy was as still and silent as a statue, staring down the lake. Concentrating different possibilities. Thinking of what his dreams meant. Meanwhile, Iris paced around the worthless truck, kicking a pebble in utter frustration. Tracy sat quietly on a nearby boulder, overwhelmed by all that had happened in the space of a day. He hadn't seen Pyramid Head before, so that giant after all the talk of him, it was very shocking. And while the others did this, Cilan looked at Misty and Ash, just sitting there on the shore, wishing he could do something. Finally, Ash stood up. His eyes were dry, and his expression was stolid. When he finally spoke, his voice was flat and uncompromising, "I have to find my father. I have to make them pay." Everyone blinked. His announcement hung in the air for a moment. Cilan eventually asked his question, "Do you…know where he is?" Ash smirked. "Yeah," Ash replied, then sighed. He glanced at the lake, the lights on the other side, and the rowboat. Iris read his mind. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" She yelled as she ran up and forced Ash to look her in the eyes. "You know what's back there! Are you honestly gonna get yourself killed? You know as well as I do that Henry could be-" Iris yelled. Suddenly Ash slapped her away. "DON'T SAY IT!" Ash then shoved her away furiously. Iris looked up at her implacable friend. He was now standing over her and looked ferocious. "What would you have me do? Run like a coward?! Well!?" Ash yelled his eyes ablaze with hatred. Iris didn't answer. A hundred answers came to her mind, each and every one bad. She just gulped as she realized how dead serious Ash was about this. She knew Ash. When he put his mind to something, he didn't give up. She couldn't answer him, and neither could anyone else. Cilan decided he should express something important.

"Listen. We don't know where exactly we are or even if the road is close. All I know is that the woods are thick and its miles to the next town. And we can't navigate very well in this fog. We don't have a map outside of the town nor any supplies…" Cilan said. At the mention of supplies, Ash's stomach growled badly. Everyone heard it, and the young boy chuckled nervously. Misty checked her Pokeballs and they still were malfunctioning. No-one moved though. Ash's mind had been made up. He began walking purposely towards the rowboat, but then Misty grabbed him by the arm. "Ash…" Misty said. She sounded so scared. "Misty, I…" Ash began to say. She nodded. "I know. We're going with you." She said. That stopped Ash in his tracks. He looked back at his friends, expecting an argument or even a hesitation. There wasn't any. They were coming with him to the most dangerous place they had ever known. To help him find his father and get them all away from here. Tears appeared in the boy's eyes at the loyalty of his friends. "Thank you…" He said. Iris smiled slightly. "It's okay. We're not gonna just let you get yourself killed," She said. Tracy nodded. "No way." Tracy said. Ash smiled. "Let's go." Ash said.


	15. Chapter 14

ch. 14

Ash had responsibly decided to row. With steady strokes he moved the small rowboat and its occupants across the still lake, towards the lights of the amusement park. Cilan, Tracy, Iris and Misty were watching in all four directions for anything amiss. Pikachu was sitting beside Ash, plaintively watching its trainer guide the rowboat back to Yoka Village. Ash couldn't help but wonder about his dream while he rows. Does Edward have his dad? Were they really at the amusement park? Was it really going to be that easy? Ash shocked his head. 'No. Edward nor Pyramid Head would ever let it be that easy. But…did I go to this place before? If so…why am I only remembering now?' Ash thought. Iris broke the chilling silence. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked. She was always suspicious of Ash's plans. Ash nearly smirked. "Are you kidding? This is the worst idea I've ever had. But it's the only option we got." Ash replied. Nobody asked him, but Cilan felt like he should explain again before Ash forget why they were going to the town. "We need to get a map, supplies, some way to get out of this place..." Cilan said, but was soon interrupted by Ash. "...And my dad, don't forgot." Ash added. Cilan nodded. "Yeah. And the only place nearby where we can find all that is..." Cilan said. Misty looked at the waiter. "Yoka Village. We know." Misty said, and then sighed. She stared out at the impenetrable mist. The group fell into silence again, watching for anything on the lake surface. Luckily, there was nothing to see on the surface expect the distant lights. There was plenty to hear, though. As the boat came closer, the unmistakable sounds of the horrific creatures began ringing through the air. Shrieks of laughter and cries of pain echoed over the lake surface, a loud siren blaring constantly. Cilan guessed that the creatures were attacking each other now, in violent territorial squabbles. The noises grew louder and louder as the boat drifted closer. The siren seemed to act as a desperate warning to whoever heard it. The children shivered, but didn't turn back. Ash saw the wooden pier appear in the mist. Somehow he knew that was the exact same pier he had been on when he confronted the fact of his father's absence. And now here he was again. How ironic. Ash sighed. With a little effort, he guided the rowboat towards the pier. The boat was tied to the wooden walkway with some handy rope, and the group clambered onto the deck. Misty and Iris kept a sharp watch for any creatures in the mist as Ash, Cilan, Tracy and Pikachu braced themselves.

There were no monsters in sight, or at least as far as they could see in the fog. They didn't hear anything nearby... all the noises of bloody battles were distant. However, the monsters were still there, though. This town was more dangerous than anything they had ever been through before. But they had much to do before they could leave. "Where do we start?" Misty asked. Ash's stomach growled again. Ash blushed. "Supplies." Ash said. Everyone groaned. It was only a short walk to the Amusement Park thankfully, but it was the tensest ten minutes the group had ever known. Every noise was amplified and every distant cry sounded as if it was right next to them. More than once Pikachu and Axew fired their long distance attacks at an approaching noise, only to connect with nothing. Cilan had advised the two Pokémon to conserve their energy for when it was needed. The idea of running out of the only things they had for protection didn't help the nerves of the children. Every step was slowly taken, every pair of eyes in a different direction. The only thing that was more chilling than the cries of the creatures was the silence...they had only just noticed the siren had stopped wailing. Between each scream was a deathly silence, without birdsongs, music or even the rustle of the wind to break it. The sound of knocking knees could be faintly heard, though no-one wanted to admit it was them. Beads of sweat clung to their foreheads as they waited for the inevitable monster attack. They could hear the sweat dripping from their hands. But for all that stress, the trod to Yoka Village Amusement Park was uneventful. No creatures attacked them, and before they knew it, the cheery facade of the park appeared in the fog. That was when they decided to breathe again. The group, still keeping a wary eye on their surroundings, crept through the ruined park. The place had been torn apart by the creatures... the rides had been ripped to pieces, the tents reduced to rags, and the food had been scattered by whoever had been in the park when the monsters attack. Popcorn and hot dogs were strewn across the fairway by the fleeing men, women and children.

Strangely, there was no living thing in the fairground. No people, no monsters, nothing. Just the gang, staring numbly at the carnage all around them. Oddly, the music was still playing, which would normally calm the group's nerves. But the fact that the place was a wreck, and yet the music said that it was still a fun and happy place, made them shiver it. Iris then noticed someone sitting languidly on one of the park benches. It was a man in a Pikachu costume. The girl stepped up to him carefully. "Um...excuse me, sir; do you know where the confession stands are? It's been sometime since we were last here, so we don't remember." Iris asked. She got no answer. Iris asked again, stepping a little closer the bright yellow costume. Still the man said nothing. He hadn't moved, either. Iris figured he had passed out. She asked again, a little louder. Still nothing. Iris was now right behind him now, and shock his shoulder gently. "Hello..." She asked. The man fell off the bench like a rag doll, flopping onto the ground with the sound of a wet meat sack. Numerous cuts that had been hidden by the bench were on his back, not to mention the crimson blood dripping out of them, told everyone this man hadn't been sleeping. Iris screamed again, rearing back and nearly toppling over Cilan. The young man did his best to soothe his horrified friend. Iris eventually sat down on a convenient plastic rock. Misty's eyes darted around the empty park once she saw the dead man. It seemed empty, but she kept hearing a rattling and tapping sound somewhere. But everywhere she looked; there was no living thing to see. The fog had only lightened somewhat, she could see a few feet in front of her. Ash looked away from the corpse and looked around and saw the sign for the amusement park food court. Squinting his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining this, he could see a handful of stands advertising hot dogs, soft drinks and popcorn. Ash's stomach growled at the sight. The boy quickly drew Tracy's attention to the stands. "Yep. Those are food stands." Tracy said. Ash smiled. "ALRIGHT! Let's filled up our backpacks with some of this stuff before we get moving again." Ash said, walking over to the stands.

Shell-shocked Iris stayed where she was. "Yeah." Iris said. Misty bitterly groaned. "I'd rather not die of starvation before I get killed." Misty said. Regardless, she opened one of the storage boxes in the back of the hotdog stand. Ash quickly rummaged through a soft drink stand and found several plastic bottles he could store in his backpack. He put some in there, and then walked over the candy stand. Meanwhile, Tracy found a pokefood stand and it was stockpiled with bags of Pokémon food as well as some hamburgers. And Cilan rummaged through the popcorn stand. Ash stuffed a few bars into his pockets and gobble up several more, dropping the wrappers on the ground. Fear had made him very hungry, plus he hadn't had a decent meal since the hospital. He checked over his shoulder to make sure Iris was still where she was, and sighed in relief. She was still on the rock, however, she was still shell-shocked. Ash sighed. Things were going well… however, Ash soon remembered the real reason he was here. Ash was here for his father. Ash soon sneaked away, which was simple since Pikachu was with Tracy right at the moment. Ash soon returned to the stadium that Edward and Danvers had their speeches on. It was a wreck with lighting boxes all over the floor and wires strung everywhere. Ash sighed as he sat down at one of the seats and closed his eyes. Suddenly he heard people talking. Ash opened his eyes and saw everything was now purple, the fog was gone, and Ash was now around four years old. The boy was wearing a sleeveless shirt, some shorts, and sandals. Ash was smiling as he saw a woman on the stage. _"Welcome, welcome to Lake Side Amusement Park's latest attraction, THE ALMIGHTY SUPREAM DOU!"_ The announcer yelled. Ash smiled as he looked to his left, where he saw his mother wearing a more gown like outfit looking at a book. _"Momma, look! The show's about to start!"_ Ash said, excited. Delia smiled as she put the book away. _"Why yes, hun. I bet you can't wait to be a trainer."_ She said. Ash nodded. Ash looked at the stadium as two men wearing spandex appeared. The one had a long sword obviously made out of plastic, and the other one had a staff. _"I am Xuchilbara! Protector and Guardian of the weak and defenseless! I judge all bad guys and give proper punishment!"_ The one with the sword yelled as he posed muscularly. The other one swings his staff. _"I am Lobsel Vith! Protector and Guardian of the weak and defenseless! I give hope to those in need and make everything fill wonderful!"_ The yellow one yelled.

Ash laughed in delight as the performers soon fought against the 'evil' dragons Zekrom and Reshiram. Delia smiled then sighed. _"I wish your father was here with us right now. He would've loved it."_ She said. Ash looked at her in confusion. _"Why isn't daddy here?"_ Ash asked. Delia looked away. _"Because... because he's going on a Pokémon journey. Right now he's at the Pokémon Center while we stay in that new hotel after...you-know-what. Don't worry, daddy's fine. He just needs time alone to train."_ Delia said. Ash sighed and looked at the battle. _'I'm going to go to the Pokémon center the next time Momma goes there. I miss him so much.'_ Ash thought. Suddenly he felt something on his shoulder. _"Ash… Ash…"_ Delia's voice said. Ash turned to her. Ash froze in fear he saw the nurse monster in her place. **_"Ash..."_** It said. Ash was terrified. _"G-get away from me! I'm… I'm NOT HIS EXPERIMENT!"_ Ash yelled as he closed his eyes. He heard it yelled. **_"ASH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"_ ** It yelled. Ash opened his eyes and saw Misty glaring at him. Ash blinked. "Wh-what the?" Ash said then looked behind him. Henry was nowhere to be see. Ash looked at the stage, and it was back to being a wreck. "What the? Did… did I just had a flashback?" Ash asked himself, confused. Misty groaned. "Ash, what the hell are you talking about? What were you doing sitting here, staring into space?" Misty asked. Ash blushed as he got up and looked at her. "W-well, I wanted to sit down and relax and I guess seeing the stage again caused me to remember something from my childhood. Dad, Mom, and I were here, watching this show of two performers. They were really good. They…had odd names though. One was the guardian's name and the other was Lobsel Vith, and they were fighting Zekrom and Reshiram, two legendry Pokémon. Everyone liked it, but Hen...I mean dad wasn't there. Mom told me he was at the Pokémon center and I thought back then that I would follow her to it." Ash blushed as he said that. Misty smiled. "That's actually a nice flashback. I'm glad you liked it…although...why did you yell at me and said that weird stuff!?" Misty yelled at the end.

Ash looked away. "B-because you…you looked like that nurse creature I told you about. I… I don't know why I said that I wasn't an experiment for Pyramid Head or why I assumed Pyramid Head would want to experiment on me but with how crazy he is; I wouldn't be surprised if he thought of me as… as an… ex-experiment… a…m...mistake." Ash said as he held himself. Misty touched his shoulder. "Ash, you're not an experiment nor a mistake. You're Ash. You're a good kid. We'll find your father, and everything will be alright." Misty said. Ash sighed in relief. Ash pulled out a candy bar and gave it to Misty. "Want some candy?" Ash asked, more cheerful. Misty smiled and grabbed the bar. "Sure." She said. She then unwrapped it and began eating it. Ash smirked. She looked so cute in his eyes. Ash got out another candy bar and unwrapped it. He soon nibbles on it. However, he soon thought back to his father. 'I…I did come here before. I…I know it…but was it just for a vacation? If so… why don't I remember? And… what…what about dad? Where is he? If…if he's not here, then where could he be?' Ash thought, but kept up the smile despite the pain he was feeling inside. Back with the group, they were nearly done getting supplies when Cilan heard some coming from the supply closet. "…daddy… daddy…" The distorted voice of a young boy said. Cilan looked at the others, but nobody else had noticed it. Cilan sighed and entered the room. Inside, Cilan could see a small figure crying in the corner of the room. It looked so helpless and lost. "H-hey, it's alright, kid. We'll find your father." Cilan said as he hoped that the figure's father hadn't been killed by one of the monsters. The small figure kept sobbing as if it didn't even hear him. "Daddy... daddy... daddy..." 'He' said. Cilan crept closer and moved a comforting hand to the crying child. "Don't worry, we'll help you find your..." Cilan said. The child stops crying and growls. "You're not my daddy." The figure snarled. It stood up and turned around. Cilan suddenly wished he hadn't gone into the stockroom. "EEEEEEAUGH!" He screamed. Cilan's scream snapped Iris out of her shocked state as everyone whirled around to the area where the terrified cry had come from. Cilan tear out of the store room. The boy slipped on a candy wrapper and fell flat on his face. He wanted to yell at Ash for letting a wrapper fall there, but he had other things to worry about.

Out of the door behind him appeared something out of a Grimm fairy tale. It looked like a small child but the head and neck had been ripped off and replaced with a lizard's skull. Its eyes were blood red and lizard like, dripping from them were a mixture of blood and tears. Its skin was clammy and grey, and the creature was covered in burn bandages and splattered blood. It slowly approached the fallen Cilan, raising a tiny knife in its hand. The skull-headed child was almost on top of Cilan when a well-aimed rock forced it to drop the knife. It grunted as it closed one of its eyes and held its head. It looked at the person who threw the rock. "GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU FREAK!" Iris screamed as she ran towards her friend and the monster. The creature blankly looked at the girl as Cilan scuttled back to his feet. On seeing his target trying to get away, the monster grabbed the boy by his leg and picked the small knife back off the ground. Cilan shocked himself free from the small creature's grasp, prompting the grey monster to start chasing him. It didn't far before Iris showed up and uses Axew's dragon breath on it. The small creature tumbled onto the ground as Iris pulled Cilan away from the monster and rejoined the group. Ash and Pikachu stepped in front of the group for protection. The children glanced at the tiny monster getting back onto its feet. It let out a loud hiss, and then something that resembled a gasp. "Daddy!" It shrieked in the distorted voice of a small boy. "Daddy?" Another one asked. The group didn't like that sound. "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" The strange voices yelled. The children gasped. The cries were coming from everywhere in the park now. Their eyes darted around. Many more of the small creatures were crawling out of every shadow, ride, and hole in the park. The skull headed children were clambering down the roller coaster tracks in swarms, and there seemed to be at least 10 of them in each of the rides and buildings.

A legion of the knife-wielding monsters closed in on the group from every side. "DADDY! DADDY!" They yelled. Ash gulped. The knife-wielding children were closing in, and the group searched for an exit somewhere. They didn't find one...the creatures were everywhere. The park exit and entrance were blocked off, and there seemed to be no place that the small couldn't swarm. The shrieking gnome like things kept coming in with their tiny knives. Pikachu shocked the closest ones back and Axew used its Dragon breath to put some on fire, but that only seemed to strengthen the army's drive. "DaddydaddydaddyDADDY!" They were running towards the terrified children now, knives drawn and arms open. They had to think fast. If they stayed here, they would soon be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers no matter how hard they fought. And it wouldn't be long before the loud cries of the children alerted the other monsters in town. But where could they go? Tracy saw something that gave him an inspiration. He grabbed Ash and Misty by the wrists. "This way guys!" He said. Not sure what he was planning but trusting their friend, the group ran with him. The screaming monsters chased them, screaming like abandoned children, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Don't go!" Iris looked at them. She would've felt sorry for them if they weren't carrying knives. "Why do they keep saying that?" Iris questions as they ran. Misty looked at the girl. "I don't know and I don't care. Let's just get out of here!" Misty yelled. She soon felt something on her leg. "Huh?" She said. She looked down. One of the creatures had caught up with them and was holding her leg, one of it's knives stuck in her leg. "Please...don't go." It said. It sounded sad. She gave a sharp backwards kick and the skull-headed child tumbled back into the legion. Without hesitating, Misty ran faster. The army snarled angrily at the escaping group. Tracy ran ahead of the group and kneeled beside a large manhole cover. "You're joking!" Iris yelled. Tracy glares at her. "You've got any better ideas?" Tracy asked. The knife-wielding legion was closing in fast and faster, screaming louder and louder, "DADDY! NO!" Ash looked at them. He felt his heart tug. Ash wanted to stay and be with them. To help them. However, Ash couldn't afford his friends to get hurt even worse. Ash grabbed one end of the manhole cover while Tracy holding the other. Between the two of them, they easily lifted the heavy metal circle. Ash hurriedly beckoned the others to go down the hole into the sewer system.

"NOOO!" One of the skull-headed children leapt at Ash. A thunderbolt from Pikachu forced it down onto the ground. Cilan and Iris jumped down into the hole, with Misty following them shortly. Tracy urged Ash to go first. Ash nodded and walked to the edge of the sewer. "Please! Daddy! No!" One of the skull-children said. Ash stopped from entering the sewer and looked at them. "Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled in the boy's ears. Tracy looked at the boy in confusion. "Ash, what are you doing?!" Tracy asked. Ash looked at the manhole and then the monsters. Ash felt tears falling down his face, but he didn't know why. "I...I'm sorry..." Ash said. He grabbed Pikachu, and then jumped down into the sewer. The screams of the creatures grew louder as they drew closer. Tracy grabbed the edge of the manhole cover, and quickly stepped down the ladder rungs inside. There were several metal rungs inside the sewer, leading up to a particular manhole cover. For his position just below the hole, Tracy struggled to drag the cover back over the gap. The shrieking skull children were almost on top of the man hole. One of them managed to get its hand between the manhole cover and the edge of the sewer. The wrist twisted to find Tracy, the knife whipping closer to his face. With a grunt of exertion, Tracy forcefully slammed the manhole into the creature's wrist, forcing it to drop the tiny knife and retreat. With nothing blocking it, the cover slid over the manhole again. Tracy took a breath as the creatures desperately pounded at the sealed hole, sobbing. "DAAAAAAAADDDDDYYYYYYYY!" They yelled. Praying that the small monsters wouldn't be able to lift the heavy cover, Tracy rejoined his friends at the bottom of the sewer pipeline. There was nothing in to see in the sewers except pipes and flowing water... though the water content was very questionable. The group sat down, gasping for breath.

"That was too close." Iris said. No-one argued. Misty looked down and noticed the creature's knife on the ground. Wincing, she picked it up. She couldn't believe how much she felt sorry for the monsters. After they had calmed down sufficiently and after Tracy wrapped up Misty's small wound, Tracy took out a flashlight and a map. "I managed to get this one off the kiosks before Cilan got attacked." Tracy said. Flattening the map out on the ground, he scrutinized it carefully. It was a map of Yoka Village in general, with cheery advertisements regarding the many ways you can enjoy yourself in this tourist's paradise. Hiding from the murderous monsters in the dark sewer, the map seemed like an obnoxious slap to the face. Regardless, everyone looked at it carefully. Ash wiped the tears in his eyes. Tracy looked at him. "You okay?" Tracy asked. Ash looked up and smiled. "Y-yeah. I...I don't know why apologized to those monsters. Maybe...maybe I felt sorry for them since they seem to mistaken me for their daddy. They must be so worried about him." Ash said. Misty tilted her head. "So, then Eddie's their 'dad'?" Misty asked. Ash nodded. "He must be. Who else could create such horrible monsters? He may have even created Pyramid Head as well." Ash said, although he wasn't sure about Pyramid Head. Tracy looked at Ash. "So where do you think Henry is?" Tracy asked. Ash gulped. He didn't know. Pyramid Head said that he and Edward were in the park, but he wasn't willing to go back to that place to look. "I...I guess the same place they took me. Markham's house. Where was that again?" Ash asked. Misty thought for a moment, and then pointed to the 'Sudowoodo Oaks residential area'. "Somewhere here. I remember us going past the sign when we were trying to find you." She said. Ash held his chin. "And where are we now?" Ash asked. Cilan pointed to the map. "The Amusement Park." Cilan said. He pointed to a brightly colored overview of the place. "So if we head west..." Ash said. Everyone looked at each other.

"Anyone have a compass?" Iris asked. Cilan looked at his 'phone'. "The Xtransciever might have one…" Cilan said as he took out the item and turned it on. However, the Xtransciever wouldn't work, and instead perpetually buzzed with a bizarre static. Fortunately, Iris had one in the side of her backpack. After a brief pause she pointed down one of the sewer tunnels. Tracy shined his flashlight into the darkness; a dripping passageway filled with garbage came into view. Misty sighed. "Do we have to go through there?" Misty asked. Tracy nodded. "Yeah, unless you want to get eaten by the creatures up on the streets." Tracy said. Misty groaned. "Besides, we'll be safer down here." Iris said, trying to assure the others. Ash looked at her and raise an eyebrow. "Safe?" He asked. She pouted at him. "Safer." She said. Misty gulped in fear. This was not the vacation she was expecting when she first came to Yoka Village. The group soon pulled out their own flashlights and shinned them. The group soon began walking down the sewer passage. After much navigation and going around block passageways, Misty sighed. "Do I even want to know what we're stepping in?" Misty asked. She didn't look down, but the noise of her ankle sinking into muck was less than a soothing sound. Tracy looked down with his flashlight. "Not really." The group squelched through the mess with more than a little disgust. They had been walking for about 20 minutes now. (Had to be more realistic since the sewers of Silent hill are NOT big enough to be worthy enough for hours to pass.) Under normal circumstances the rest of the gang might've stopped to get some food, but the stench of the sewers (and the seriousness of the situation) had caused the children to lose their appetites. "You sure this is the right way?" Ash muttered. Tracy was holding Iris' compass and shone his light down on it. "Pretty sure." He said. Everyone looked at him as they walked. " _Pretty sure?_ That's not a reassuringly sign." Iris said. Cilan sighed. "Maybe we're lost." Cilan said. Tracy frowned. "We'll check where we are when we get to the ladder." Tracy said, reassuringly. "And when would that be?" Iris asked. Tracy shone his light up and saw a ladder a short distance away. "Not too long now. C'mon, we can't stop here." Tracy said. Misty nodded. "No, let's not." Misty muttered as their footsteps squished down the corridor.

 _Squish squish squish squish._ _**SCHLORP.**_

That last noise made everyone stop. It wasn't them. Tracy whirled around to make sure that everyone was still there. They were. Iris gulped and turned to Ash. "It was probably a… Patrat, right?" Iris asked. 'Probably not,' Ash thought. But he didn't say it out loud. "Let's… just keep moving." He spoke with conviction and determination, trying desperately to keep his teeth from chattering.

 _ **SKCHLORGPH!**_

The group looked at Tracy. His flashlight was shaking like a leaf in his hand, and his calm face had warped into a mask of fear. He wasn't looking at his friends. He was looking at something behind them. As soon as that thought registered, the children whirled around and gasped. Something huge was rising up out of the slime. A large lump in the muck was growing bigger and bigger. It looked like a colossal bubble forming, but it was too thick and solid to be anything other than a creature. It grew and grew until it was bigger than the children. Pikachu began sparking its cheeks, anticipating a fight. As soon as that thing appeared out of the muck, it would learn a hard lesson about stalking Pikachu's friends. But nothing appeared out of the muck. The huge bubble suddenly split in half and bellowed. A huge mouth had appeared out of the sludge, complete with filthy teeth and saliva. The roar echoed loudly in the cramped sewer pipe, causing the children to wince. No monster was hiding in the sludge; the sludge _was_ the monster. And the group was ankle-deep in it. "RUN!" Iris screamed. No-one had to be told twice, and they took off in the direction of the ladder. It was not fast-going…the sentient sludge grabbed at them with disgusting 'hands', and tiny mouths kept appearing and biting at their feet. Every step seemed to be an effort to keep their feet from getting stuck in the slime. It was as if they were moving in slow motion. Iris nearly toppled over but was righted in the nick of time by Ash. No-one wanted to know what would happen if they fell here. The rungs were within their reach now. Cilan stepped right into one of the grotesque jaws, and the teeth clamped around his leg like a Shellder.

Before he could free his foot, Ash collided with him forcefully, nearly toppling them both over. Fortunately, the force was enough to rip Cilan's foot out of the monster's maw. The boys stumbled forward, the ladder rungs hitting them right in the face. There was no time to register pain or embarrassment, they had to get away. Cilan went up first, darting up the ladder as fast as he could go. The boy glanced up and realized the manhole cover was still in place. He didn't stop however, and braced himself for impact by putting his arm in front of his face. "GRRAAAAAH!" Cilan yelled. He slammed into the cover at full speed. The metal disc flipping off the manhole, clattering onto the street. Cilan hurriedly clambered out of the now-clear exit. Ash and Pikachu came out net, with a gasping Iris and Tracy close behind. Ash soon realized something. "Where's Misty?" Ash yelled, he looked down. Misty struggled to get her foot from one of the muck monsters grasping 'hands'/'mouths'. Misty was a strong girl and she succeeded in getting herself out of the monsters gruesome clutches and to the ladder. Then she saw something that made her freeze. The removal of the manhole cover had caused light to filter down into the sewer. Misty could faintly see what looked like a tidal wave approaching her. But instead of water, it was made out of the sludge creature, and the foam at the top of the wave was teeth. Misty glanced behind her, and sure enough another wave, the other half of the creature's mouth, was bearing down on her at all speed. Misty couldn't move, paralyzed with fright. A gloved hand grabbed her by the wrist. Misty looked up and saw her old friend from Pallet Town. Tracy, Iris, and Cilan were holding on to Ash, and once they saw Ash had a hold of Misty, they pulled up hard and fast. Misty was hoisted off the ground, and just cleared the closing jaws of the sewer monster. As soon as the last person was out of the sewer hole, Tracy wasted no time in replacing the manhole cover. "Thank you… Thank you." Misty whimpered with relief. Ash smiled slightly. "You're welcome." Ash said.

The boy glanced around him. With the fog, all he could understand about his surroundings was that they were in the middle of a street, close to several shops and a wrecked truck carrying metal pipes. "Where are we?" Ash asked. Cilan looked around. "I…I don't know." Cilan babbled. Iris grabbed Cilan by the collar and screeched in his face. "YOU DON'T KNOW? We're in life and death trouble and we're LOST?" Iris yelled. Cilan grabbed her hands. "Iris, calm down!" Cilan said. Iris growled. "Calm? How can I be calm? We're dead! We're deader than dead! And our fearless lead has no idea where we even are!" Iris yelled. Ash growled. "It was your idea that we were safer down there than on the streets! NOW WILL YOU BE QUIET!?" Ash snapped. A wide eyed Iris whirled around to Ash. "Quiet? I wanna scream! I'm gonna scream! EEEEAAAAGHk-" Ash clambered his hand around the hysterical girl's mouth. The boy quickly directed the group's attention to something very important. "We're still not safe." Ash said. All too close to the group was yet another creature. This one had been feasting on the corpse of the truck's driver, violently tearing out chunks of the victim's flesh. But when Iris began shrieking, it had turned its attention to the group, a malevolent smile on its face. Once it saw that the children were staring at it, it stood up and gurgled with laughter. It was humanoid in shape. It had Edward's face with two horns where it's ears would have been, it had a long shark tail sprouted out of its behind, spikes poked out of its upper arms and cafe muscles, and large sickle like lower arms that looked razor sharp. Its body was hastily rapped in bandages around it's body. Its face had a large star burn mark on its nose; it had yellow inhuman eyes, had long yellow hair looked like Eddie's, and large sharp teeth. "Dead, dead, dead." Iris babbled. It didn't look like she'd be wrong.


	16. Chapter 15

ch. 15

Pikachu growled. He was supposed to defend his friends from the dangers of this insane town, and twice now he had fled. First from the overwhelming creatures at the amusement park, and again from the sludge creature in the sewer. It was considered a dishonor for a Pokémon to flee from a fight, especially when his or her trainer was threatened. Well, he wasn't going to run this time! "Pika-CHUUU!" A powerful Thunderbolt attack blasted the scythe bladed monstrosity. The creature roared in surprise as the lightning bolt coursed through its body. The group blinked as the monster twitched violently due to the electricity. Pikachu snarled a threat about what would happen if he came closer. Unfortunately, the monster recovered. With a roar of rage, it swung one of its large scythe arms towards the yellow mouse. Pikachu would've been slashed by the scythe if he had been a second slower. The electric Pokémon counterattacked with a stronger Thunderbolt, causing the huge to spasm and buckle. It got back up, angrier than ever. Ash had snapped out of his shock because of the battle, and now he was in full Trainer mode. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled. Another lightning bolt blasted into the monster before it could attack again. The grotesque creature screamed and flung another scythe arm at Ash's Pokémon. Pikachu dodged again, but just barely. Not sure what else to do, Ash gave the only command he could think of. "Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu obeyed, charging at the creature with a glowing tail. Pikachu leaped at the monster's face and whirled around so that the Iron Tail smashed right into the creature's face. The creature staggered as if it had been hit with a sledgehammer. Unfortunately, the creature got back up and growled at the mouse. It picks up with it's hands. Pikachu squeaked in surprise as the monster's grotesque mouth let out a bellow of rage right in his face. The group had not noticed that under the sickles were human hands. The other hand grabbed him, and Pikachu gasped as the creature began to crush him, pushing all the air out of his lungs. Ash realized how useless he was being, just standing there and yelling while his friend was being hurt by the scythed freak. "Axew use Dragon breath!" Iris yelled. Axew breathed a blue flame that hits the creature on its left side. It screams in pain, but wouldn't let go of the mouse. In that moment, Ash decided to do something. The truck nearby was carrying several metal pipes, likely plumbing supplies. The large pipes were bound together by string, but Ash found a smaller one that wasn't tied up.

Without thinking, he snatched it and charged at the monster's back. "ASH? What are you doing?" Cilan yelled in confusion. Cilan's question was quickly answered when Ash smashed the pipe into the monsters back. The pipe bent on impact with the monster's tough skin, but the creature clearly felt it, yelping in surprise. The monstrosity whirled around and Ash was knocked aside by one of the scythes. The boy was thrown into the door of Annie's bar, splintering the wooden entrance. "ASH!" The gang yelled. Ash had distracted the monster long enough for Pikachu to get his breath back. Before the creature could turn its attention back to it's captive, Pikachu had let another Thunderbolt loose. The creature screamed as its tiny prey began to burn its hands with the electric energy. The scythe monster had to drop its prey because of the sheer pain. Pikachu fell to the ground with a thud and tried to run away from the enraged monstrosity. However, the creature's attack had seriously hurt him, and he could only stagger away a few feet before collapsing exhaustion. The creature recovered quickly, and turned its attention back to the electric mouse. It was furious now, and was ready to punish this aggravating little creature for good. With heavy footsteps, the murderous monster slowly stormed towards the exhausted Pikachu. It neither noticed nor cared that it was right beside the truck's stock of heavy metal pipes. Suddenly, Tracy rushed over to Pikachu and snatched him up in his arms. The monster growled in confusion as the boy starting running. "NOW!" Tracy yelled.

 _Thkcik!_

With one swipe of a tiny knife, Misty severed the cord that held the huge pipes together. The monster heard a loud clanging right beside him and turned to see several huge metal objects rolling right towards him. It didn't have time to run...the first pipe fell off the truck and smashed it in the back, bringing the monster to its knees. Before it could get up again, a multitude of the huge pipes had buried it in a clanging avalanche. Misty got up off the truck's roof and joined Cilan, Iris, and Tracy, who was carrying Pikachu. They gave a quick glance at the huge pile of pipes. One of the creature's scythe hands had managed to get out from between two of the huge objects. It grasped weakly at nothing, and then fell down limply in defeat. The group whooped with relief and then turned their attention right back to Ash. Pikachu hopped out of Tracy's arms and limped towards the broken door of the antique store. Ash was lying there, moaning himself back to consciousness. Misty ran to his side and got him back up to his feet. "Are you alright?" She asked. Ash held his head. "Yeah, sure..." Ash said, then sighed, "You guys alright?" The group smiled. "We're fine. Pikachu's a little battered though. I got some potions..." Cilan said. Just then the group heard a noise inside the bar. Ash and Misty whirled around. The splintered wood door revealed a dark shop with something moving in the back. Ash and Misty tensed up, ready themselves for another fight. Whatever was in the shop was creeping closer and closer to them. Ash gulped and raised the bent metal pipe, while Misty brandished the knife she had gotten from the ghoul children. Pikachu began to spark its cheek, daring the intruder to come closer. Two pairs of feet could be heard coming up to them slowly... Just then Tracy shone his flashlight into the bar. Jessie and James gasped with surprise as the temporarily blinded them, making them drop the pots they had mistaken for weapons. In the back, Meowth groaned. Iris, Cilan, Misty, and Tracy all let out sighed of exasperation. Ash growled. "YOU!" Ash yelled. Team Rocket blinked and made out the figures staring at them in the doorway. "The twerps? Unbelievable." Meowth said. They were all shocked by this. "They sounded like monsters from the back room!" James said, and then cleared his throat. This caused the trio to pose. "Prepare for tr-" Jessie began to say their motto, but was interrupted by Misty. "We're ALREADY in trouble! Big trouble!" Misty yelled as her fear controls her again. The trio tripped, and then stood up. Jessie frowned. "We know that!" Jessie yelled. Meowth sighed. "This ain't the time fer..." Meowth said.

Before the argument could continue any further, Iris had burst into the shop and wrapped her arms around a very surprised James. The hysterical girl babbled with a strange relief. "Finally! Actually People! Thank goodness, thank goodness. Someone else who's ok! Thank goodness. Finally, somebody normal, somebody we know! Yayyy..." Iris said as she cried. Jessie and Ash blinked at the spectacle, then turned to each other. They both shook their heads. After Iris had calmed down enough and the door had been barricaded, the group of seven people and three Pokémon sat down together to discuss their situation. They felt it was safe to huddle to the back of the bar, away from the window. Apparently, after the spell incident, Team Rocket had tried to run back their temporary hideout. On the way there, they passed by Perlis' building. Ash was being held back by Tracy so he wouldn't go ballistic on the group. He was still very angry after what they did to him. "The guy was acting nuts." Jessie said. Meowth nodded. "Really nuts. It was like he was drunk. Hopping around, singing some show tune as several weird monsters appeared. I think it was the Yoka Village anthem." James said. Ash blinked. "But…I don't know the anthem…I think…so how does Edward know?" Ash asked. Meowth shrugged. "Don't know. But it was nothing like how Eddie acted. He was like a crazy kid playing with his toys. Only those toys were a lot bigger and seemingly came out of nowhere." Meowth said. Jessie chuckled. "Funny thing...I thought they could've broken the door down, but for some reason they couldn't get into the building." Jessie said. James nodded. "The monsters just kept pounding and slicing and yelling and running into the door, but the door wouldn't give. Eddie made threats to the guy and swore that 'he'll get him'." James said. Everyone shivered at that idea. "Then Eddie noticed us and whispered something to the monster you defeated. Then it chased us to this place. Thankfully we were able to get some food since this is a restaurant." Meowth said. The gang gulped.

"So Eddie really is controlling those monsters," Misty said. The group of thieves nodded. "Thanks for taking care of that thing, twerps. If it hadn't got distracted by that truck, it would've easily found us in here." James said. The gang except for Ash smiled. "Don't worry about it." Iris said. Ash growled. "DON'T YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHAT THEY DID TO US! TO ME! THEY...THEY CAUSE ME THIS PAIN AND PROBABLY MADE THE FOG APPEAR THANKS TO THAT BOOK! THEY ALLOWED EDDIE TO RULE THIS PLACE AND MAKE THOSE MONSTERS! THEY MUST PAY FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE!" Ash yelled, releasing his pent up rage. Everyone looked at him. "Whoa, I've never seen the twerp so angry." Jessie whispered to James. James nodded. "You'd better apologize Jess; I don't like the look in his eyes." Meowth said. Jess notices this and gulps. "Okay. I'm sorry twerp. I... We shouldn't have listened to that Pyramid Head guy. But you've got to see it from our point of view. We were fed up with Perlis bossing us around, so we turned to him for his help. We...we never expected you to suffer this much. And I shouldn't had used that spell. After all, it said that it would create 'god's paradise with Xuchilbara's power'. If this is some god's paradise, then I don't want to see their version of hell." Jessie said. Ash froze as he remembered the nightmare of Silent Hill and the story of the 'holy mother'. "Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked. Ash shocked his head clear and then looked at her with a sheepish smile. "Y-yeah. But maybe this is punishment for the people who did this to me…I…I mean Edward. To show them the consequences of their crimes." Ash said with a smile. Iris growled. "If that's the case, then Edward's judgements are way too harsh! Even for Team Rocket and Perlis!" Iris said. Jessie sighed. "Besides, we only took you to Pyramid Head. We didn't do anything to you other than use the spell. Plus you've forgotten that we saved your life from the cult people." James said. Ash looked away as he remembered the pain in his arms. "And I'm saying that you're lying! There is no proof that you 'saved' me from anything!" Ash said. Team Rocket sighed. "Okay, don't believe us. It doesn't matter, we maybe crocks, but we aren't worthy of this…demented hell." James said. The gang nodded, however Ash simply looked away, anger in his eyes.

"Oi, about you guys? How'd you get here anyways?" Meowth asked, trying to lighten the mood. Ash, Iris, and Cilan took turns telling their story. The killed trainer, Henry, Pyramid Head on the road, being forced to go back, Ash's weird flashback, which surprised everyone but Misty; the ghouls at the amusement park, the creature in the sewers, the battle on the streets, and now here they were. "Dat's harsh." Meowth remarked at the end. Ash looked away. "You have no idea." Ash muttered sullenly, walking away from the group. He wanted to be as far away from the trio as he could. He just didn't have the heart to forgive them after all that happened. Jessie looked down. "Wanna bet?" Jessie remarked. "I lost my mother several years ago, and I have no idea where she is, either." Ash growls as his hair became more wild. "I KNOW where my dad is!" Ash yelled. His frustration was bubbling up again and suddenly boiled over. "He's here... in this town somewhere! I just..." Ash leaned on the back door. Sadly, things could be figured out fairly quickly, now that he had time to think. He didn't know where Henry was at all. This was a huge town. And he couldn't search it without him or his friends being threatened by those monsters running loose. Was his father worth endangering everyone else? But he couldn't just...leave him, could he? Like Henry had left him...NO! He shouldn't think like that...but what was he supposed to do? Cower in this place like a coward because he couldn't think of anywhere else to go? Where else was there? There was Markham's house, sure, but if Henry wasn't there, what then? What ...where...how... Ash snarled. "GAAAAH!" Ash screamed. He slammed his fists into the door, jarring it opened. Ash gulped as realized that he just broke down another entrance for the monsters. The group glared at him. "Nice going twerp, the back door is broken, now more monsters can get us now!" James yelled. Ash looked at them in shock. "What?! No…I…I didn't mean to…I…I was angry. I…I didn't think!" Ash said, scared. However, Jessie simply sighed. "No matter, we can't stay here now! Besides, this means we can go to our temporary base now. It's at an antic shop." Jessie said. James nodded.

"But…but…" Ash said, ashamed of himself. Jessie sighed. "Enough of the 'buts', twerp! You've already done enough." She said as the gang picked up their stuff. Ash looked down **. 'It's all your fault. If it wasn't for you, they would be safe. Father would still be here. You're a maniac just like Edward. You deserve this you monster.'** Ash's inner voice scolded the boy as the building slightly distorts. The wood became badly burnt, metal grates replaced the flooring, the smell of rotten meat was everywhere, and the counter disappeared. Ash closed his eyes and breath heavily. After a few seconds, the place returned to normal. "Wh-what the Fruitcake!? What just happened? What's going on with the building?" Iris yelled out in fear. The others didn't know, but they were equally terrified. Ash opened his eyes and sighed. Pikachu was freaking out by this sudden shift. Pikachu asked what just happened. Ash sighed. "I…I don't know but it was scary." Ash said. Pikachu nodded. The gang sighed and they continued on their way. As they walked down the streets, they could hear several angry and confused barks and other strange noises. It seemed like the monsters were fighting against each other a lot more. "You know, Edward kind of stinks at controlling these creatures. They just seem to fight each other and lash out like animals. You would think they would try to be after humans or something." Jessie said as calm and collected as she could be after what happened. However, just at that moment, one of the scorpion monsters appeared out of the mist. The gang glare at Jessie. The monster rushed the gang. Pikachu soon jumped up and used Thunderbolt on the monster. It roared in pain. Ash soon ran up to it and slammed his pipe at one of the monster's sour spots. It roared in pain. Ash smiled. The scream sounded like music to his ears. He hit the spot again and again until it fell down. It soon shimmed in pain. Ash growled and kicked the sour spot. It screamed in pain as the hole opened up, however no blood escaped the wound. Ash waited for a second, then laughed like a maniac once he knew he had killed the monster. 'I-I did it! I killed one of the monsters! Now… now he doesn't have to hurt anyone. I'm… I'm a good guy. I'm a good guy.' Ash thought, however his friends were disturbed.

"Ash, I…I think that's enough. You… you killed it. Laughing like that isn't needed. I… I guess killing is our only option, but you shouldn't be so happy about this." Misty said. Ash stopped and glared at her. "Aren't you happy? I…I stopped one of the monsters. I…I saved us. I'm not useless. I…I need something to BE HAPPY ABOUT!" Ash yelled, tears rolling down his face, a deep seeded pain unleashing. His friends were shocked by the boy's words. "It-It's okay, Ash. You've done good. Let's…Let's just go now." Iris said, scared. Ash held himself as he nodded. The gang then continued on their way. After a couple of minutes of walking, they noticed that the area became more grass like as there were fewer and fewer buildings around. They turned left and after a few more minutes, they noticed a large motel to the left and a diner to the right. The group soon noticed that the north road was destroyed as part of it was an empty void. "W-what the!?" Misty yelled as they noticed the void. They couldn't believe that part of the road was now gone. "Did… did Edward do this?" Cilan asked. Ash sighed. "I… I don't know. Maybe. Hey, Team Rocket, what powers did you awaken in Edward?!" Ash yelled. Jessie sighed. "Honestly, we don't know. I just thought it would control you, twerp. But then again I thought YOU were the guardian…but I guess I was wrong." Jessie said. The gang soon turned right and walked down the street. They passed another road that had another giant hole in it. They eventually reached the butcher's shop, however when they arrived, they saw that there was nothing left of the building other than a burnt and rotten floor board and a few burnt walls. The area was covered in police tape and traffic cones. Iris and Axew were shocked at the destruction the little dragon had cause. "Wow. I…I can't believe how damaged this place is. I knew the cops said it had burned down but…wow." Tracy said. Cilan nodded. "Yeah, and it was all caused to get away from that monster." Cilan replied. Ash gritted his teeth. "I'm going to make him pay. He has caused so much pain and sadness. If… If there's anyone left, I bet they're as terrified as us." Ash said. The gang nodded. Cilan looked at the map he got when they first got here.

"Well, the next road that can lead us off this street is Acadia road. Hopefully that one isn't broken as well." Cilan said. The gang sighed and continued walking down the street they were on. They passed down another broken road. They then reached the end of the road with a large metal gate, but oddly the gate was open. The gang looked down the road they were on and sighed. This road was perfectly fine, which caused the gang to smile. "Great! A road we can actually go on. And based off the map, at the end, we can go on and then go to the antic shop Team rocket talked about." Tracy said. The gang cheered at this. However, something soon caught Ash's eyes. "Huh?" He muttered. His eyes widened when recognized the object. "DAD!" Ash yelled running to the gate. The gang turned to the gate and on other side was Henry Ketchum, running towards them. Ash pushed the gate aside and ran to the man, his friends swiftly following him. Ash soon hugged the man. "Oh dad! I'm so glad you're safe! I… I thought I lost you again!" Ash cried. Henry chuckled as he hugged back. "Ash, it's okay. I'm safe. Everything is fine." He said, a warm smile on his face as he patted Ash's head as he let the boy cry on him. The gang smiled as they looked at the man. His hair was a bit messy and his shirt completely gone, but other than that he looked fine. "So you're the twerp's father, huh. I'm James, this is Jessie, and this is our Meowth. We're friends of the twerps." James introduced himself and his gang. Henry smirked. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Henry Ketchum." Henry said. Jessie and Meowth smirked. "But…why are you here? What happened to your shirt? And how did you survive so long alone?" Cilan asked, a bit confused. Henry sighed and looked away. "That monster who attacked us. He…he put me in a cage. When I woke up, my shirt was gone and I was trapped in the Sanitarium. If the monsters weren't here, I would've came out of the yard and looked for you…but…now…we're safe…however… there are too many monsters in the way, the roads are damaged beyond all repair, and I lost my weapon. It's…it's back in the Sanitarium. If you want, if you need to, we can go get it. It's safe enough to rest and I bet you're probably hungry. I found some rations to eat." Henry said as he lets go of Ash.

Ash sniffles as he lets go of his father. "It's alright, we've brought our own food. Stuff we found in the amusement park, so there will be enough." Cilan said. Henry smiled. "And once we find your mighty shotgun we can get out of town by heading for the piers and leave this nut place!" Iris yelled. Henry nodded and the gang headed into the entrance of the Sanitarium. Ash however had a bad feeling about the place once he laid his eyes on it. It felt oddly familiar to him, however, he trusted his father enough to go in. The area was a wreck with dirty tiles, broken picture frames, and the place completely covered in darkness. The kids had to turn on all their flashlights to see anything. "Wow, this place is run down. How long has this place been abandoned to get THIS bad?" Misty asked. Henry sighed. "A long, long time. I sometimes wonder why they haven't torn this place down…" Henry said then felt a pain in his head. Henry stopped and closed his eyes. "Dad, are you okay?" Ash asked, scared. Henry opened his eyes and smiled. "Yes, Ash. I'm fine. I just had a mild headache. That's all." Henry said. They soon entered the main lobby, which was a small octagon that branched out in the four directions. The east and west wings were blocked by giant gates with doors on them. On the corridor walls were one door on each side. Ahead of them was another corridor that had two doors to the side and a double décor door at the end. Misty and Tracy go to the west doors and tried to open the main gate door, but it was broken. Meanwhile Cilan and Iris went to the east doors and tried to open the main door, but it was locked from the other side. "No use on our end. I wonder if there's another way around." Cilan wondered. Henry sighed. "This place is a big maze. Who knows where they hide my gun." Henry stated. Misty closed her door. "Well, why don't we try one of these smaller rooms to see if we can find some place to sit." Misty suggested. The gang nodded. "I know where I put the food, so when you're done checking doors, we'll go to it." Henry said. The gang smiled.

Cilan and Iris went to the side doors, but only the north side door opened. Misty and Tracy tried their doors, but the south one was jammed. Ash walked to the two doors on the northern hallway. The right one was broken while the left was locked. He then went to the double doors, but it too was locked. "Hey, Cilan, how can you tell if a door's just jammed or it's just locked?" Ash wondered. Cilan and the others walked toward the center of the room. "It's the way the door handles shake when you turn it. Why?" Cilan asked. Ash walked to his friends. "Well, if we had a key, the double doors could open and…huh?" Ash said, then noticed something at the doctor's door. He kneels down and picks it up. Henry noticed this. "Ash, what did you find?" Henry asked. Ash blinked as he looked at the note. "It's a…note?" Ash said, a bit confused. This confused the others. "What does it say?" Tracy asked. Ash sighed. _"Dr. Harris, our 'magpies' have been at it again. This time they SWALLOWED the damn keys for Archives and the Basement. Don't worry…Gary has taken Mr. Magpie to the TB Ward and I'm taking Ms. Magpie to hydrotherapy. We'll make them spit the keys out! This job would be great if it weren't for the patients! Clem."_ Ash read. This confused the others. "Well, after we eat, we'll go to the east wing." Cilan said, acting like a leader. Ash nodded. It felt so weird that Cilan was acting more like a leader than him. Pikachu rubbed Ash's check. Ash sighed. Henry soon lead them to the room next to the blocked east wing. Inside, it was a well-furnished room, but on the left side of the room were a wall of cabinets. Jessie and James walked over to it and saw a door behind them. James and Jessie tried to move the stuff but it was too heavy and unstable to move. They sighed as the gang explored the rest of the area. There were a few chairs and lots of dusty empty cabinets. In the far end of the room, there a chair and a doll. And in the middle of the room was a table, and on that table was a large platter that had a lot of food. Ash drooled at the sight of food.

Misty gasped as she examined one of the charis and found a target pistol next to a doll. "Wow! I can't believe someone put this gun next to this poor doll." Misty said as she checked the gun. It was full of ammo. Ash looked at the doll. It was of a little girl with long black hair and a blue dress with a red ribbon. 'Just like Alessa.' Ash thought. The gang sighed as they walked to the table. The gang grabbed some chairs and then ate. It felt refreshing to be safe in this room, however they all knew they would eventually have to leave. Thankfully the pistol Misty found will be a valuable assist. Once they had their fill, Cilan sighed. "Well, at least there was enough food for us to not use our ration of food." Cilan said. Ash smiled. "That's good. Now let's find these keys and find Dad's gun." Ash said as he packed up his stuff. The gang agreed as they packed up. They soon exit the room. They walked to the other northern room. They entered the area. It was nearly exactly the same as the previous room except for the fact that there was no table of food, and it was fully explorable. However, Iris noticed something on the desk near the door. She picked up. "It's the map and…wow…this place is HUGE!" She yelled. The gang looked at the map and gulped. It was huge. Misty soon pulled out a red marker and marked all the broken locks and the barrier that splited the room they were previously in. Ash soon noticed something on the far desk. Ash walked over to it and picked it up. _"Status Report, 3/12/1988. Patient Mr. *blank* *blank*. Age: 34. Examining Doctor: Dr. Harris. Notes: Patient continues to harbor strong fantasies and a violent persecution complex. His moods can swing from calm to violent aggression in a short time, which has led to him being moved to the seclusion wing. He becomes particularly violent during the occasional visits from his wife, demanding that he be allowed to see their child. We have taken the precautionary step of adding Epolineum to Mr. *Blank* medication to prevent his violent outbursts. I don't like having to sedate patients, but when he is aggressive, *Blank* is as much of a danger to himself as to his visiting wife and the staff."_ The note read. Ash blinked and shocked his head as he put the note in his pocket. Pikachu was confused by the note. He asked Ash as to why it was there and why it was so old. Ash sighed.

"I don't know… but I don't think it's important enough to tell the others. Right now we need to find Dad's gun." Ash said. Pikachu sighed. The gang soon walked over the other door. "Ash, come on. Let's get out of here." Misty yelled at Ash. Ash turned to them and nodded. He then followed them out of the room. Once out of the room, a head was a left turn they could take. They looked to their left, but the only other door was the gate door which they already proven was broken. The gang sighed and moved on. There was a stairway door, but they decide to turned left and move on just so they could they get more ground. They soon began walking more normally now that Henry was with them. They didn't need to walk slowly anymore. They walked to the end of the hallway, passing a small corridor, where they reached a few doors. The gang split into three groups to check the doors. Ash was with Misty and Henry. Iris was with Tracy and Cilan, and Team Rocket was a group. Each group checked the rooms. Misty found some ammo for her gun. Team Rocket's door was broken, so they couldn't even explore their room, as was the second group's door. Iris sighed as Ash and the others exited their room. "Ma, what a bust. Only one door worked. What did you find?" Iris asked. Misty sighed. "Only ammo for my gun. Everything else was useless." Misty said. Ash nodded. The gang sighed and walked to the far door corridor that they passed. They tried to open the door but it was locked from the other side. The gang sighed as they walked back to the staircase, which was the only area they could go. Once in the stairwell, there were two ways to go. "So who's going up and who's going down?" Tracy asked. Ash thought about it. **'Can't go down now. We need…no… You need to go up.'** The voice told Ash. Ash closed his eyes as Iris looked at the map. "I… I think Iris and Cilan should make sure the bottom door isn't locked while me and the others will go upstairs and wait for you." Ash said. The gang nodded as they split. Cilan and Iris go down, but find the door locked like Ash predicted they sigh and check around the bottom area for items. To their surprise they find pistol ammo on a chair and a wrench on the ground. Cilan quickly grabbed it as a weapon. Once they were done, they went upstairs.

Meanwhile, the other gang had reached the top floor, where there was a vending machine near the door. "That's strange." Tracy said as they waited for the others. Jessie and James nodded. "I think there were a couple other machines back in that room we were in, but I doubt they would be any good." Jessie said. Ash sighed. After a few seconds, Cilan and Iris arrived with Cilan holding the wrench. Iris gives Misty the ammo. "Well, the bottom door is locked just like Ash guessed so if we want to go downstairs, we'll need a key." Cilan said. Misty sighed as she grabbed the ammo and put it in her backpack. "It feels like we need a lot of keys." She said. The gang nodded and headed into the next corridor. However, when they entered the next area, they saw a shadowy blob covered in a harness. It had yellow eyes, two thick antennae, and looked like it was wobbling in pain. Misty shrieks and pulls out her gun, shooting the monster until it fell to ground and the shadow disappeared, only leaving the harness behind. Misty breathed heavily as she calmed herself. Iris glared at Henry. "You said it was safe." Iris said coldly. Henry sighed. "It was. These creatures didn't exist before…but…these monster appear without warning…it's…it's like they just pop into existence." Henry said, looking away. Holding his right arm nervously. Ash smiled. "Don't worry, we'll stop Edward." Ash said. Henry smiled. The gang turned right just in case the monster was still somehow alive. They walked down the twisting corridor, turned right and then arrived at a double door. They tried to open it but the lock was broken. They turned around and went to the other door, which was just a single door, and it was open. They enter the room and saw a red haired nurse looking away, shacking like mad. "Um...excuse us miss, but have you seen a shotgun? I know that sounds weird, but our friend lost it." Cilan said. The 'nurse' turned and the gang gasped in shock. It was one of the monster nurses Ash had told them about. Ash froze in fear. Misty screamed as she shot at the creature, however she only had two bullets in her gun. The monster screams in pain and then turned to the group and growled. Seeing it weak, Ash and Cilan rushed over to the monster and used their melee weapons to beat it to the ground. It laid there, twitching. Ash growled and kicked the creature, stopping the twitching.

Ash sighed once they were done. "Aw man, that was scary. Now I understand what you meant by 'monster nurses'." Iris said to Ash. Ash smiled at her and nodded. The gang quickly looked around the room. It was a simple storage room but oddly there was dry blood on the ground. The gang looked around in the cramp room and Meowth found some shotgun ammo. "Well, once we find this gun, we'll have ammo for it." Meowth said, happily. Henry smiled. "Hopefully we'll find my gun soon so we can leave." The gang nodded. Tracy smiled. "And I found a first aid kit." Tracy said. The gang smiled. "Alright. Hopefully we'll find more. Anyways, that's all we could find, so let's get out of here." Cilan said. The gang soon exited the room. "Well that was a good find. Plus we know that those creepy nurse things are here, and they can have different hair colors than the one I first met." Ash said. The others agree. They checked the door near them but it was locked. They sighed and walked back to the area with the harness monster. They hoped the monster was dead now. Thankfully, once they arrived at the area, the harness was on the ground. The gang sighed. Tracy tried to open a small side room that was to the right but it was jammed, so the gang just went straight ahead. They soon entered a large circular-ish room with a big grated circle fence surrounding a hole. The gang gulped as they saw two cat monsters walking around, looking hungry. One of them noticed them and pouches towards Henry. Ash quickly reached and whacked the monster away. It growled as it got back up. Axew soon uses dragon breath on the monster. It screams in pain. Ash soon rushed to the monster and bashed on it until it falls over. Ash soon kicked the monster in the stomach. Soon another cat monster came from the right and leapt onto Ash's back. Pikachu soon uses Iron tail to knock the creature away. Cilan soon ran at it and used the wrench to smack it a bit. Ash soon turned the creature and growled as he rushed to the creature and used his pipe to help beat the monster down. Ash then kicked it in the stomach. However, before they could relax, another monstrous growl was heard from the left. Misty pulled out her gun, reloaded it and quickly shot the cat monster down. Ash soon ran over to it once Misty was done shooting and kicked it in the stomach.

Soon another monstrous growl was heard from the right. The gang groaned as Cilan ran over to the monster and used his retch to beat to make it fall and then kicked it in the stomach. Ash breathed heavily once all the growls were gone, however his adrenaline was still rushing like mad. "How many cat monsters are we going to find here?" Meowth asked. Ash looked at the cat and growled. "W-well, I mean. I'm technically a cat monster, but you know what I mean." Meowth said. Ash soon looked away and held his head. "I…I don't know. But…but once we find dad's gun, we can go." Ash said. Iris put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Ash, Henry, are you sure we need that gun? We've been doing good so far." Iris asked. She wanted to get out of here right away. Henry sighed. "Yes, Iris. We need it. While we're doing good now, it won't hurt us having more fire power. Besides…there is something else that I forgot here." Henry said, a cold look in his eyes. The gang sighed as they began checking the doors. Many were jammed or broken, however the one they needed was open, with Ash being the one to go in it. Ash smiled once he was the room. However, he could hear something breathing he looked around saw one of the lung machines was one. Ash walked over the machine and saw a note. "OUT OF USE. In light of the recent accident, I am barring the use of the iron lung equipment. This applies to all staff, including senior nurses. Patient deaths during therapy are not to be treated lightly. I find it hard to believe that someone could 'accidently' overload every valve on the equipment and so, until the enquiry has concluded, I must assume the equipment itself is at fault. These precautions are essential – we owe a duty of care to all of our patients, even the difficult ones. Dr. Harris." The note said. Ash smiled. At least the doctors were nice. 'Still…how did this place become abandon?' Ash wondered. He sighed and looked at the window of the iron lung and saw one of the keys. Ash became ecstatic. "Alright! One of the keys! Hopefully this is the one to the storage area that was locked." Ash said, not wanting to go to the basement. Pikachu nodded. "Still…how do I…oh yeah! The note! Ugh…that means I have to break it. Oh well, not like anyone was using it." Ash said. Pikachu nodded.

Ash soon walked to the controls. He groaned. It looked simple with only one button for each valve however he knew that it couldn't be THAT easy. **'First valve twice, third valve twice, fifth valve twice.'** The voice said. Ash sighed and followed the instructions in his head. To his surprise it works as the iron lung spits something out. Ash walks over to it and smiles as it was a key. He picked it up and a small tag was on it that read 'Basement key'. Ash groaned. 'I knew it couldn't be THAT easy. There was a reason they said it was just locked.' Ash thought to himself. "Hey, you got one of the keys!" Iris yelled, snapping Ash out of his thoughts. Ash turned to her and saw that the whole gang was in the room, the door shut right behind them. Ash smiled. "Yeah, but it's only for the basement." Ash said. Cilan held his chin. "That must mean the other key is in the woman's Hydrotherapy." Cilan said. Ash sighed. "And the only way to it is through the basement." Ash said. The gang nodded. They didn't like this one bit. The gang soon exited the room. However, they soon saw two of the shadow creatures and three cat creatures looking at them from the left side of the area. The gang gulped. "Go! Rush ahead! I'll deal with them!" Henry yelled. Ash looked at the man. "But dad!?" Ash protested however, Henry glared at the boy. "Ash, I know your worried about me, but I'll be fine. Now go! You can't handle these creatures, even with your friends!" Henry yelled. Soon one of the cat creature rushed towards them. Ash growled and they rushed past the creature, it scratching at Iris, hitting her in the leg. Iris grunts as Cilan grabbed her hand and helped her keep moving. They soon exit the hallway and shut the door behind them, panting heavily. Iris falls to her knees. Cilan knees and pulls out a med kit. He soon began wrapping her leg in bandages. Ash looked at the door. He soon rushed to it and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Ash's eyes shrank. "No…NO! Dad! Dad!" Ash yelled and began to pound on the door. "Dad, run! Dad! Dad!" Ash screamed, every part of him terrified about Henry's fate. Suddenly a loud male scream was heard. Ash's eyes shrank even further as he felt something slash his side. "No…daddy…no…" Ash said, tears now filling his eyes as he held his side. 'I couldn't protect him. He…he…' Ash thought then fell to his knees. He soon began to cry. **'Failure. You can't solve anything. You can't save anyone. All you can do is destroy...'** The voice said. Ash held his head. 'Shut up, shut up, shut up!' Ash screamed as he cried. His whole body ached in pain.

After a while, the door he was leaning against opened. Ash became scared and moved away. However, he soon became happy as he saw his father smiling at him. Ash rushed over to him and hugged him. "DADDY!" Ash yelled out in fear. Henry grunted in pain. Ash let go of him and saw a slash mark his side. Cilan finished patching up Iris and rushes over to Henry. "Kneel. I need to heal you." Cilan said. Henry sighed and kneeled as Cilan brought out more medical stuff. "I'm surprise you're not bleeding." Cilan said, confused. Henry smirked. "Wasn't strong enough. A-anyways, sorry for scaring you like that, Ash. But…now…you're all safe. Iris got a little hurt but…*Grunt* everything is okay now." Henry said with a big goofy smile. Ash held himself. "No… not alright! I…I almost lost you again! You almost got killed! I…I…It's my fault. My fault. I should've stayed with you. I should've been a hero. I'm…I'm a monster…" Ash said, guilt consuming him. Misty hugged him. "Ash, it's alright. You didn't know getting that key would cause those monsters to suddenly appear. But…Henry…why didn't you run with us? How did you defeat all those monsters?" Misty asked, confused. Henry sighed and looked away. "I… I used magic. Dangerous magic that if you were around, it… it could've hit you. That's why you had to run. As for why I had to stay, well… they had to get their target. And since they seemed most interested in me, I figured I was their target. I'm sorry for worrying you like that…but…now we can go get my weapon." Henry said with a smile. Ash looked at him. "NO! NO! We're not doing that! I… I almost! I… I almost lost you again. I… I don't want you to die…" Ash said, tears rolling down his face, "I don't want Edward to take you away from me again." Henry sighed as Cilan finishes up wrapping his bandages. Cilan soon put away his supplies and got up. "Ash… you're…. you're right. This… this isn't worth it." Henry said with an honest smile. Suddenly he felt a pain in his head. Ash rushed out of Misty's arms and towards his father. "Dad!" Ash yelled as he grabbed Henry's shoulder. Henry looked at his son and smiled. "I'm fine Ash. I'm fine… I was just forgetting why I brought you here." Henry said in a cold manner. Ash became scared. "D-dad?" Ash asked. Henry smiled and looked at his son. "It's okay. I'm fine… Let's…let's get out of here." Henry said, conflicted. The gang smiled. Cilan puts Iris on his back and the gang soon walked to the stair case.

They soon walked to the first floor, navigate through the empty room, and then walked to the entrance. However, when Tracy tried to open the door, he found a problem…it was stuck. "Oh crap." He said in fear. The gang didn't like the tone in his voice. "Wh-what's wrong, Tracy? Just open the door!" Jessie yelled. Tracy grunted as he tried to turn the knob. "I-I'm trying! B-but the doors are locked! I…I need a key!" Tracy admits. Ash became terrified. "No…NO!" Ash yelled as he pulled out the key he got. He soon pushed Tracy aside and tried to use the key, but it didn't fit. Ash grunted as he put the key away and then turned the knob, but it was fast shut. Ash soon pounded the door. "No! No! NO! NO!" Ash yelled, each 'no' louder than the last, "I want out! I want dad safe! I want us to be happy! YOU…YOU CAN'T KEEP US TRAPPED IN HERE!" Ash was panicking. However, the door remained still. Ash's friends back off, scared of the boy. Ash held himself, breathing heavily. Henry put a hand on Ash. Ash noticed this and then hugs him. "Why? Why is it locked? Why can't I open it?" Ash asked. The others nodded. It should be openable from the inside. Henry sighed. "I…I don't know. It should be open, but there's a key here. A key I used to get out. I…I don't know what happened to it, but it should be back in…in the cell that monster put me in…however…the only way to get to the cell is through the basement." Henry said. Ash looked at the man in fear. Ash looked down and sighed. "O-okay…I'll…we'll keep going… We…we need to be free…we…we need to get you home." Ash said. Henry smiled. The gang groaned. They really didn't want to go through the basement, but it seemed like the only way now. The gang soon walked back to the stairs, Henry holding Ash so Ash would feel safe. Once back at the stairs, they walked down to the basement and Ash used his key to open it. He soon put it away in his back pack and the gang entered the hallway. Iris looked at the map as the others looked around and sigh in relief. So far they were safe. "Man this basement is weird. Well, at least there's an entrance in front of us." Iris said as Misty refills her gun just in case. They soon entered the door in front of them and walked a few steps before they see three shadow creatures. Misty freaks and began shooting one of them until it falls down. Misty then refill and shoots the next one. She then refills and shoots the last one. Misty relaxes once all three stop moving and disappear. The gang sighed as well and began searching the rooms. The door in front of them was locked as was the one to the left. Iris soon smiled. "Hey, I found more ammo for your gun, Misty!" Iris yelled. Misty smiled.

However, the right door was broken, but thankfully the store room was open. Team rocket searched and found more ammo and oddly a drip stand. The 'evil' gang exit the room and sighed. "Well, we found more ammo for your gun, and oddly a drip stand, which James will be using, but other than that, this was a bust." Jessie said as she and Iris give Misty the ammo. Misty sighed. "Well, at least three more monsters are dead." Ash said. However, this didn't improve anyone's options. They soon walked back to the area they were previously in and turned left where they saw one of Scorpion creatures walking down the hallway. Ash growled at the monster and rushed towards it. He soon raised his pipe and began hitting the weak fleshy bits. The monster screams in pain, but could do anything as the boy wailed on it. After a bit, it falls down and Ash kicks it in the fleshy bits. Ash began laughing manically "Yes. Die! Die you stupid monster! You…you give me so much pleasure seeing you suffer. After… after what those others did to dad. WHAT YOU'RE MASTER DID TO ME! Hahahaha! YOU DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED!" Ash laughed, however it scared his friends. However, they let him have this. They knew how scared he was so maybe…maybe laughing at this one victory will make him feel like his normal self. After a while, Ash finished laughing as was breathing heavily. "Y-you done now?" Jessie asked. Ash smiled as he turned to her and nodded. The gang sighed. "We should start searching this hallway now." Tracy said. Ash nodded. The gang soon began by going to the storage room, but it was locked from the other side. "Why is it locked from the other side?" Misty asked. Ash sighed. "I… I don't know, but… but let's keep going." Ash said. The gang nodded. They go past the next door, but the door near it had its lock broken so they went to the east pipe room, which could be open. They entered the room and began searching. However, while they learned that all the sewage goes here, there was nothing else, so they exit the room and go to the door they passed.

They soon entered a long hallway. There was one shadow creature in the hallway, but Misty easily shoot it to death. The gang sighed. "There are so many of those shadow monsters. Why are they only here?" Misty asked. Ash shrugged. The gang sighed and continued on their way until they were at a split. Misty walked over to the left door but it was blocked and Ash went to the right door which was open and lead to the stair well. The gang sighed and walked to the stair well. "At least the stops mean there's less to search." Misty said. The gang nodded as they began walking up the stair well. Ash looked at Iris and Henry. "How do you feel?" Ash asked. Iris and Henry smiled. "Fine." They replied. Iris then chuckles. "Jinx. Once this is over, you owe me a soda." Iris said. Henry chuckled. "Okay." He said. Ash smiled. 'You know, ever since Team Rocket joined and Dad became okay, things have been looking brighter… I… I just hope things stay that way.' Ash thought, scared of the idea of being alone. After a while, they reached the first floor again, however, when Ash tried to open, he found out it was locked from the other side. Ash groaned. "Again with the 'locked from the other side' thing. This is getting annoying." Ash said. The others agreed. This was getting ridiculous. They soon sighed and continued on their way to the second floor. "Well, at least we're almost done with the place. Just a bit more, and then we'll get the key to Henry's gun, then we'll find the exit key, and then get out of this strange, strange place." Misty with a big smile. Ash smiled. He was tired of this dusty old place. After a few more step, they soon reached the second floor, Ash opened the door and looked around. Iris gave the map to Tracy and he smiled. "Alright, the Hydro therapy is over there. We should search the other places just in case we find some items." Tracy said. The gang nodded. However, Misty soon noticed a shadow and a couple of cat monsters. She refilled her gun and shoots the shadow monster to death. Ash notices the cat monsters and rushes towards them with incredible speed. He soon wakes one upside the head. Ash growled, "That's for almost killing dad!" He then smacked it again. "That's for kill that kid!" He yelled, all the pent up rage releasing.

Soon the other creature jumped toward the boy, but Pikachu noticed it and uses Electro ball on it. It screams in pain and falls to the ground as Ash hits the other one again. "That's for nearly killing ME!" Ash roared. His eyes now green and the ponytail unraveled with the ribbon on the ground. Ash now looked identical to Edward Hyde except for his clothes. Ash then kicked the fallen cat monster and then it's friend. Ash laughed at this. His friends sighed and began searching the doors. The one to their left was blocked, the one in front of the stairs was blocked, and one was open. Misty looked around as she entered the open room. It was a bathroom with a very dirty mirror. She looked around some more, but there was nothing else. Misty sighed and exited the room. Tracy tried the 'ETC' room but it was blocked, Iris tried the door next to the door that lead them to the next area but it too was blocked. She then tried the big doors, but they too were blocked. Misty sighed. "Great! The only room available to us is the bathroom. Hopefully the Hydro room can work." Misty said. Ash nodded as he walked to the door. He entered the area and sighed. He then looked at the tubs, however when he saw the key, he noticed the heat coming from the water and it was slightly boiling. He groaned. He noticed a big box that would drain the water. "Aw man, this really stinks. I have to drain this stupid thing. Hopefully we can get the top off that drain we found to get the key." Ash said, as he remembered the water ways. Pikachu nodded. Ash sighed as pressed the bottom. He saw the key go down the drain. Ash then exits the room.

"Did you get the key?" Misty asked. Ash looked away. "No… The water was too hot to touch, so I had to drain it. Thankfully we know where to go next." Ash said. The gang sighed. "By the way, what did you find?" Ash asked. Misty walked up to him. "Well, almost all the other doors are locked except for the bathroom. Oddly it's opened, but there's nothing in there." Misty replied. Ash blinked. "You sure about that? There has to be a reason it's the only door working." Ash said as he headed towards the bathroom. Misty follows him. "Well, maybe I over looked something. We can search it again." Misty said as the gang nodded. Ash and Misty soon entered the bathroom. The others staying behind since it would get too crowded if they all tried to go in. Henry sighed as he held his head. It was starting to ache again. Iris noticed this. "Is something wrong, Mr. Ketchum?" Iris asked, confused. Henry looked at her and smiled. "Oh, I'm fine…it's just…this place is oddly familiar… but I'm not sure why?" Henry said. This confused the others. They soon thought back to the story they heard on the radio. It too was oddly familiar, however, they were so busy that they hadn't had time to really think about it. "Hey, what are you thinking?" Jessie asked. Cilan looked at her. "Oh yeah. You weren't with us when we heard the story. Anyways, back when we were first leaving the town, we heard this strange story about an 'iron empire'." Cilan said. Iris soon looked at him. "Yeah. It was super weird. Something about an empress and executioner. And apparently this executioner hide in a… boy… like… how… Edward was in Ash… Do… do you think that story was talking about Edward and Ash?" Iris asked as the pieces started to click. Tracy became scared. "Y-yeah. And since Edward is supposedly just the guardian spirit gone nuts, it makes a lot of sense. But… then who's this empress Edward was serving?" Tracy asked. Jessie and James were confused. "Wait… Are you saying that Eddie guy is a ghost?" Meowth asked. The gang nodded. "Well, yes in the simplest terms… but oddly he can manifest as a solid being. It's really weird. Then again he is Xuchilbara, so who knows what that thing can do." Tracy said. Team Rocket were shocked to hear this. Henry look shock too, but not as much as Team Rocket. "Wow. That's nuts." James said. The gang nodded. Meanwhile, Ash and Misty reached the mirror. Ash looked at the mirror and was disgusted by it. The walls looked much worse somehow and it was a lot darker than normal. They sighed and quickly explored the rest of the bathroom, but found nothing. They sighed as they turned back. "Man, that stinks. I was hoping to find something to help remove that grate." Ash said. Misty nodded.

They then passed by the mirror again, however, Ash stopped and saw something that froze him up. Misty stopped and looked at the mirror in confusion. She soon froze when she saw that their reflections were off. Ash's reflection showed Henry, Pikachu's reflection was of a white hair man with Victorian clothes, which looked awkward sitting on 'Henry's' shoulder, and Misty's reflection was of a black hair woman with a red military top, a black bikini, red lips, and sultry eyes. The group was baffled by this. Ash reached out to the mirror and touched it. Henry's head suddenly began to twitch widely and inhumanly. Ash tried to remove his hand, but it was somehow stuck. Ash then began to cough. Ash fell to his knees. The boy soon screams in pain as the world distorts around him. Suddenly his and Misty's flashlights turn off, making it impossible to see. Misty and the others soon fell to their knees as the area shakes. Suddenly the outside group's flashlights go out and the loud siren was heard. After a while, the shaking stopped, the siren stopped screeching, the screaming stopped, and their flashlights had turned back on. However, everyone was horrified as they saw what the world had become. While the original building was nothing that great, this was an even more horrible version of it. The walls were covered in a sickly green mold, the floor was replaced by a gritty grate that below it was nothing but darkness, there were what looked like white streamers or… something all over the ceiling, and the doors looked like they were made from flesh. Iris groaned as she let go of Cilan and got up. "My leg feels better, so I can walk now. But… what just happened to this place? Did… did Ash do this? I heard him scream and then suddenly the world's like this." Iris asked, confused and uncomfortable about what happened. James sighed as the others got up. "I don't know. You said that the kid has no powers, so maybe it was Edward who did that." James said. Jessie sighed as she picked up Ash's ribbon. "No matter. We just need to get the twerp and… hey, twerp's dad, are you okay?" Jessie asked.

Henry sighed as he got up. He soon chuckled as he opened his eyes. "Why, yes… yes I am." He said, but something felt off about him. Meanwhile, Ash breathed heavily as he got up. "Oh. My. Arceus! Wh-what happened to this place?!" Misty asked in fear as she got up and looked around. Pikachu asked the same thing. Ash looks around and became terrified. There were broken beds all over the area. On one of the beds a small Cubone doll and a box of ammo next to it. Ash picked up the ammo. "I-I don't know but… but… It…" Ash began to say, and then had a revelation as he looked at the doll, "It has to be caused by Edward. It only makes sense. But… why now… why did he do that after I touched that mirror? To scare me even more?" Ash asked, confused. Pikachu sighed. They looked at the mirror. The other side looked like the world they were once in. "Ash, do…do you think that just touching the mirror somehow caused the world to change?" Misty asked. Ash sighed as he looked at his hand and then the mirror. "I…I don't know…I could try touching it again…" Ash said. Misty sighed. "Not yet. First we need to make sure everyone's okay first." Misty said. Ash nodded and they headed out of the room. The other gang noticed the door rattling and became scared. Soon Ash and Misty came out, but the amount of lights on them caused them to cover their eyes as they moved their flashlights to the bottom left. The gang sighed as they moved their flashlights out their eyes. Misty was the first to lower her eyes and smiled. Ash lowered his hand and then smiled. "Ash, Misty, we're so glad you're okay." Cilan said as the others relaxed. Ash chuckled. "Yeah. We're also glad that you're okay." Ash said. Misty nodded. "What happened to this place, anyways? One moment it was relatively fine and then there was a scream, our flashlights went out and there was a siren. When our flashlights turned back on, the place was like this." Jessie asked. Misty sighed.

"Well…we're not exactly sure. While we were looking though the bathroom, something… strange happened. One moment the mirror was normal, but when we passed by it again, our reflections had changed. Ash's looked like Henry, my reflection was of this random black hair woman, and Pikachu's reflection was of this white hair guy." Misty explained. Henry held his chin. "I think I could change it back if I touch the mirror again, so mark the map with it." Ash said. Tracy nodded and pulled out his map. His eyes widen. "What the?" He said. The gang go behind him and was shocked to see that all the work they did on the map was gone. "Wh-what happened to our work?" Iris asked in shocked. Henry sighed. "I don't know. This is strange…but…whatever happened, it doesn't matter. We'll recheck the locks. Maybe there's a reason the map was wiped." Henry said. The gang groaned. "Great. We have to do all that work again." Jessie said. The gang nodded, upset. They soon began to check all the doors except for the bathroom door, Tracy putting a mark for it. They tried opening the doors, but all of them except for the door to the stairs were locked. They soon heard screeches as the Shadow monsters form out of the…well…shadows. The gang freaked and soon ran towards the stair doors. They quickly go through the doors and shut it behind them. Oddly the 'shadows' couldn't get past them. The gang sighed in relief. "Well…at least we know they can't go past doors." Misty said. The others nodded as they started going down the stairs. They soon reached the first floor. Ash checks the door knobs, and to his surprise, they could be open. "Hey, we can go through here now. I guess this… 'otherworld' is kind of handy." Ash said as they walked through the other side.

However, after a few steps and turning left, the area was covered in a strange purple light and a loud male yell could be heard. Henry and Ash stopped in fear. _"Why are you doing this to me!? I thought you loved me! Why are you protecting that… that monster?! THAT DEVIL SON! You saw what he… it did!"_ The male voice yelled, however, nobody recognized the voice except for Ash and Henry. However, Ash wasn't sure 'who' this man was. The gang soon heard a sniffle. _"I… I do love you… but… he's… HE'S NOT A MONSTER! He didn't deserve what you did to him! This place is supposed to help you since I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU!"_ A woman's voice could be heard. However, the gang recognized it as Ash's mother. They then heard a growl. _"Help? You…you locked me up like a mad man! YOU sent me to this hell! I…I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU AND THAT DEVIL SON!"_ The man yelled. After a few stomps, there was a door slam and the gang could hear a woman's cry. _"Oh Arceus. Dear, you really are dead. Oh Arceus, what am I going to do?"_ Delia's voice said. Suddenly the purple light disappeared. Ash became confused and scared as he looked at Henry. "D-dad…you…you…ha…hate me?" Ash said, feeling conflicted inside. Ash was terrified. Henry sighed and looked away. "I…I did…but…that wasn't really me…that…was a monster I became…what I once was…but I promise Ash. I'm better. I promise to never leave you again." Henry said with a warm and gentile smile. However, Ash still felt scared inside. "Y-you s-sure…" Ash asked. Henry soon hugged Ash. "I'm completely sure. That monster isn't going to hurt you again. I promise." Henry said. Ash calms down and smiled as he hugged the man back. "But… what were you… I mean that monster talking about? Why did you see Ash as a monster?" Misty asked, confused. The gang nodded. Henry sighed. "I honestly don't remember. It was so long ago, and so… strange back then that I honestly can't remember." Henry said. Ash smiled. "Well don't worry, it doesn't matter. That man's not you." Ash said. Henry smirked and let go of Ash. "Thank you for understanding." He said. Ash nodded as he let go of Henry. Ash soon noticed something on the wall that was to the right of the stairs. He walked over to it and saw it was a strange indentation, like what a key would be put in. But it didn't look like any keyhole he had ever seen and it was making his head feel numb. It kind of looked like the symbol for males but with odd spikes poking out of the round end.

"W-where are we anyways?" Ash asked as he looked away from the thing. Tracy pulled out his map. "We're in the male section of the Sanitarium. That door with the weird impression leads to the male speculation area." Tracy said. Henry sighed. "I…I think that was where I was first locked up in…and the place where that monster put me in…maybe…maybe my gun is in there." Henry said. Ash growled. "No. You're…you're not going back in, besides, we…we would need to get a key first." Ash said. The others nodded. Henry sighed and looked away. "O-okay." He said. The gang sighed and began checking the doors. Team Rocket and Henry went into the third dorm but only found ammo for Misty's gun. However, the others except for Ash, found that the doors were locked. Ash fortunately found that the bathroom was opened. Ash sighed as he looked around, but there were barbed wire blocking one of the cubicles, and there was nothing in the showers. He sighed as he walked up to the mirror. He sighed. 'Should I…but they aren't prepared.' Ash thought as he looked at the mirror. He wasn't even sure if he could change the world back to once it was. It could've just been a trick by Edward to fool him into thinking that he had control over this place. Ash shocked his head. 'No… I'm… I'm not weak. I can… I can do this.' Ash thought as he touched the mirror. Ash's head suddenly began to fuzz out. Ash screamed in pain. Suddenly the flashlights went out and the gangs were knocked to the ground again as the area shook. Henry screamed in pain, his voice becoming deep and monstrous. Team Rocket became afraid since they were still in the dorm room with him and now it was hard to see anything. **"Run! Before I hurt you! Before he comes back. I… I… (silence) I'll be waiting for my son in 'my' cell. But he can only go in alone. Keep the others from seeing 'me'. Do not disappoint me my 'friends'."** A monstrous voice yelled, then commanded. It was the same voice as their 'boss'. Suddenly Team Rocket's flashlights turned on and Henry was now the man they met in the alley way. Team Rocket were very shocked to see this. "B-boss…y-you're the twerp's dad?" James asked, confused. The monster chuckled. **"Why yes…yes I am. However, after this, don't call me boss. I have no need of thieves like you. Now go!"** He ordered. The gang nodded and rushed out of the room. Henry sighed as he walked towards the other door. "Ash…I'm… I'm sorry for this façade. I…I hope you can forgive me." Henry's voice said. He then sighed and exited the room.


	17. Chapter 16

Ch. 16

Ash groaned as he got up. He could hear a ringing in his ears. He looked around and saw that everything was back to 'normal'. He smiled as he got up and walked to the source of the sound, which was the stall that was previously blocked. Ash and Pikachu looked at the toilet and sighed. It was being plugged up by something they couldn't see. Ash flushed the toilet and it becomes unblocked. Ash and Pikachu sighed in relief as the noise stopped. Meanwhile, the gang groaned as they got up and saw Team Rocket exiting the room they were in. "Ugh. Not again." Misty said. The gang nodded then noticed a shadowy man running off to the very far end of the room, however before they could question him, one of the shadow monsters could be seen rushing towards them. Misty freaked and pulled out her gun. She soon began shooting it as the 'mysterious man' ran into the far end room. Once it disappeared, the gang sighed in relief and looked at team rocket. They soon realized that Henry wasn't with them. "Hey, where's Henry?" Iris asked. Team Rocket began to freak. "W-well our-our boss came in and…" Meowth said. Misty growled. "Pyramid Head! What was that monster doing there!? HOW did it get there!?" Misty asked in anger. Team Rocket soon huddled. "Should we tell them?" James whispered. Jessie shocked her head. "No. They would never believe us. Hell, I hardly believe it myself, but I can't deny it either." Jessie said then sighed. She soon stood up. "He took the twerp's father and said that he was 'taking him back to his cell'." Jessie said. The gang was shocked to hear this. Back with Ash, he went to the shower and saw a message on the floor written in dry blood. "WHERE IS MY SON?" It read. Ash and Pikachu gulped as they looked around, however, there was nothing in the bathroom. Ash sighed as he walked out of the bathroom. Suddenly he heard Iris yell, "AND YOU JUST LET HIM TAKE HIM WITHOUT A PROTEST!" Ash gulped and walked out of the room as he heard the group talk without him. Jessie sighed. "There was nothing we could do. The world was changing, we couldn't see and by the time everything was normal, Henry was gone. Still it was odd seeing that man run off like that. I wonder who that was." Jessie said. The gang nodded. Ash soon breathed heavily once he heard this. The gang soon noticed Ash and he was shaking like mad. Pikachu was becoming scared.

"Y-you…you l-let someone take him? You…you let a m-monster steal dad away?" Ash asked as he lowered his hat. The group of thieves gulped. "I-It's not our fault. We couldn't do a thing. What could you do against that 'Pyramid Head' guy. We're sorry twerp. But…but at least we know where the monster has taken him. It's past that door." James said, trying to calm the boy. Ash's eyes widen and he rushed over to the door. His friends followed, scared for the boy's sanity. Ash and the others soon noticed that there was a message written across the door. It said, "Dr. Harris has the key." Ash tried opening it but it was sealed shut. Ash soon began to bang on the door. "Dad! DAD! Don't leave me! Dad! DAD!" Ash said, crying as his hands hit the steel door. James walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll save him." James said. Ash soon slapped the man's arm away. Ash soon looked at the man in disgust and anger. "Why should I trust you!? All you've done is worked for that…that monster! How do I know you didn't LET Pyramid Head take him?!" Ash roared. The gang stepped back in fear except for Jessie who stepped forward. "Twerp, we did the best we could do. But…what could we do against it? It's practically invincible." Jessie yelled. Ash held his head. He soon remembered the tough time the gang's Pokémon had against it. How could three unarmed thieves possibly fight against such a monster? "You… you… you're… right. You… You couldn't do anything. But… dad… he's now… he's now…" Ash soon fell to his knees and began crying. Misty kneeled next to him and hugged him. Ash cried on her shoulder. After several tear filled moments, Ash sniffled and looked away. "You okay now?" Misty asked as she got up. Ash sniffled. "Y-yeah. I…I just want to be alone." He said. The gang sighed. "Anyways, while you do that, we should look around. Maybe there's some important items around." Cilan said. The gang nodded. They first started with the doors Team Rocket came out of, but to their surprise and confusion, the doors were busted. Team Rocket looked at each other. "Well, that's strange." Jessie said. They nodded. Meanwhile, Ash hanging near the far wall. Ash hugging himself.

'Y-you'll be fine. Daddy…I…I mean dad will be fine. Sure he's…he's away from me but…he'll…he'll be fine…but…if I hadn't changed the world at that moment, maybe…maybe Pyramid wouldn't have found him. Maybe we could…no…we couldn't do anything. That monster is too strong…The only way to stop it is to stop Edward.' Ash asked himself as Cilan, Iris and Tracy went into dorm room 5. However, it was long before Cilan noticed a baton and gave it to Iris. "Here." He said. Iris smiled as she grabbed the weapon. Cilan smiled and then noticed a note that was under the baton. "Huh?" He said. Tracy and Iris looked at him. "What's the matter?" Tracy asked. Cilan looked at him. "It's a medical note. Let me read it to you." Cilan said then coughed. _"9:30am: Administered medication to the seclusion patients. There were no incidents. 11:46am: Accompanied Dr. Harris on his morning rounds. No incidents of note. 3 pm: Visit for Mr. *blank* from his wife. Took him into the empty dorm room so he would feel more comfortable. 3:46pm: Mr. *Blank* has attacked his wife. During the visit he had a violent episode and attempted to throttle Mrs. *Blank*. He was heard screaming by myself and the attending orderly and we managed to restrain him—though it took three of us, despite him being of slight build. After we sedated him and took him back to his room, Dr. Harris examined him and decided to reinstate his dose of Epolineum. 5:12pm: After the incident with Mr. *Blank* the other patients have become agitated and restless. Harris has ordered a lock-down."_ It read. The gang gulped. "That's insane." Iris said. Cilan nodded. "I can't believe Henry…no…that wasn't Henry. It was the monster. Of course a monster would do that." Tracy said. Cilan sighed. "I just hope he's okay now. We don't want him to revert to that…thing we heard." Cilan said. Iris and Tracy nodded. "We should show this to the others…just…just in case." Iris said. The others nodded and began exploring the rest of the room just in case. They noticed that the room was a wreck and there were dolls all around. Iris soon noticed something near one of the beds and walked up to it. She soon saw it was a disk that was being held up and in it was a key. She grabbed it. "I found another key. It says it's the 'patient's belonging key'. Maybe that's where Henry's gun is." She said. The gang smiled. "Good, then we'll find Henry and get out of this nut place." Tracy said. This caused everyone to smiled. They smiled and exited the room. Ash and the others walked up to them. "So what did you find?" Jessie asked. Cilan soon showed them the note they found. Team Rocket and Ash and Misty soon read it. Ash soon gulped.

"Wow. Your dad was kind of a monster when he was nuts." James said. Ash growled at him. "That wasn't him! It…It was a monster! Dad said so himself! I…I'm going to make it pay. I'm going to make Edward and Pyramid Head pay for causing so much pain. They're not getting away with this." Ash threatened. Ash soon held himself and began to breath heavily. "We also found the key that'll lead to the double doors Ash first found. A-anyways, what did you find out?" Tracy asked. James smiled. "The front doors are open, but the door next to it is busted. We also unlocked the stair well." James said. Ash nodded. "There was also another shadow monster, but I easily shot it down." Misty said. The others sighed and gave Misty some bullets. "So how many do you have left? Maybe we should start reserving the bullets." Iris said, a bit worried. Misty soon checked her bag and then the gun. "I'd say about three packets of bullets or 18 bullets are left and 6 bullets in my gun. Although those Shadow creatures only go down after a clip of bullets." Misty explained. The gang sighed. "Well, let's get out of here before more monsters appear." Iris said. The gang nodded. They soon went to the double doors and walked into the other hallway. They quickly checked the other doors and to their joy, they were busted. "Man, I'm glad those doors are busted. I don't want to explore those areas." Iris said. The gang nodded. They were getting tired of exploring this place. They soon went pasted the second set of double doors, unlocked it, and enter another hallway. Tracy checked his map and smiled. "Hey, we're in the same hallway we were in before. The gang smiled. "That's good. Now we don't have to check the doors." Ash said. The others nodded. The gang soon walked back to the door that lead out of this hallway. They could hear a few moans, but they ignore the since the monsters weren't bothering them right now. They soon turned left towards the doors and entered the room that originally had the map. However, a nurse monster soon plunged its needle towards Ash. Ash grabbed it and soon pushed it away from him. He soon quickly smacked the creature upside it's head. He soon wailed on her as another nurse monster came up to him.

Cilan soon hit it in the head with a wrench. They soon knocked the monsters to the ground and kicked them. The gang sighed once that was over. They looked around and then went to the other set of doors and entered the main foyer. They soon walked over to the double doors Ash had found earlier. Iris smiled as she pulled out the key she and her group found and put it into the door, unlocking it. They gang enters the area and it was full of large shelves. They noticed something to the right and walked over to it. Ash picked the items up. They were two shotgun ammo and a note. Ash put the ammo away and then read the note. _"Status Report: 6/7/1988. Patient: Mr. *Blank* *Blank*. Age: 35. Examining Doctor: Dr. Harris. Notes: Mr. *Blank* condition has degraded dramatically in the last few months. His fantasies of a 'perfect world' ruled by a heavenly 'god' have become more acute, and he spends more and more in an apparent catatonic state. He claims that during this time he is in the "other world". He now has full recollection of his attack on his son, but shows no remorse for the incident. Indeed, he seems proud, a-almost smug of his attempted filicide! I-I am worried that this behavior could be a side effect of the increased doses of Epolineum that the patient has been prescribed. I-I have asked for his dose to be halved and hope to see positive results shortly."_ The note said, Ash stuttering as he and the others processed this. They soon looked at each other. "D-dad… hu…hurted me?" Ash asked, confused and scared. The gang was shocked to hear this. "Wait…you don't remember?" Jessie asked. Ash turned to her and shocked his head. "N-no. I… I don't remember ever being in this town before. Did… did I block it all out?" Ash asked. Misty sighed. "Must be. But… why is this old document and the other one we found here in the first place? I know this place is old, but I doubt they would let these kind of files out like this. It's too… convenient." Misty said. Ash sighed. "I… I don't know what's going on. But… I… I found a note earlier when we found the map that hinted to this. Do… do you think the guardian purposely did this? After all, we don't know his powers. Maybe… maybe he's causing this." Ash said. Misty growled. "Than he's more of a jerk than we originally thought! I mean, digging up this stuff, that's messed up!" Misty yelled. The gang nodded.

"Still, I wonder what's this 'perfect world' your father talked about." James asked. Ash sighed. "Well, when we get to him, we'll ask." Ash said. The gang and then turned around. They soon began looking around, however when Ash reached the back, he noticed a mirror. "H-hey, Iris, touch that mirror." Ash told her since she was closest. Iris turned to him. "Um…sure…" She said, then touched the mirror, however nothing happened. Ash was bewildered by this. "Huh. I wonder why the world did change. I…I touched a mirror earlier and it changed…so why doesn't it work with you?" Ash asked as he walked over to the mirror. Iris sighed and lowered her hand. "What are you talking about?" Iris asked. Ash sighed once he was near the mirror. "I'm talking about the mirror. When I touched it like this." Ash said, then touched the mirror. He then screamed in pain as his head began to fuzz. Suddenly everyone's flashlights turned off and the world shook. After a few seconds, Ash let go of the mirror and their flashlights turned back on. Everyone was shocked to see that the world was now the 'other world'. Iris noticed that all the shelves were now empty. "Wow. Did…did you just change the world, Ash?" Iris asked. Ash breathed heavily. "Y-yeah. It happens whenever I touch a mirror…but…why? Why only me?" Ash asked, confused. Cilan held his chin. "Maybe it has to do with your connection with the guardian. After all, it was inside of you, so maybe you have a bit of its power. And maybe this is that world IT controls." Cilan said. Ash looked at his hands. "Y-yeah. Maybe. Hopefully the guardian or Edward won't possess me again." Ash said. The gang nodded as they looked around. Jessie soon noticed something on the door. Her jaw soon dropped. "H-Hey guys, I found a shotgun!" Jessie yelled. Ash and the rest of the gang ran over to her. Ash looked at it and smiled. "Dad's gun! Yes! We finally got it! Now we… we… we find the key out of here and get the key in Harris's room and get dad! Then we can finally leave this reached place." Ash said, his eyes becoming lizard like as he repeated the word 'we'. The gang noticed this.

"Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked. Ash smiled at her. "Y-yes. I'm great! I'm fine! Now let's go find dad!" Ash said as his eyes returned to normal. The gang sighed and exited the room since there was nothing left in the place. When they exited the room, they saw that both doors to their sides were covered in barbed wire and that in the middle of the room was this big metal circular cage thing as a monstrous yell could be heard. The gang jumped. The gang swiftly when to the east side door and found that the right side door was unable to be approach due to a gap in the flooring. They go ahead and found that the door was jammed. They go right and found the door open. They smile as they entered the room. They looked around, but there was nothing in the room. They soon sighed and checked the bandages. Cilan and Tracy quickly replaced them and put new medicine on them. "Thanks." Misty and Iris said as they sat down and got their legs bandaged up again. The guys smiled. Ash growled as he looked at Misty and Tracy. Ash closed his eyes as he felt a strange feeling in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but it made him very angry. He knew he felt it before, especially when Misty was around, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. Once they got all bandaged up, their stomachs growled. "Man, how long have we've been running around in here?" Iris asked, genially curious. Cilan sighed as he looked at his Pokenave. However, he was only getting static. "Unfortunately we don't know. But let's have something to eat. All the fear and panic we been through has drained our energy." Cilan said as he put away his Pokenave. The gang nodded and got out the remaining food they had left. They quickly ate their food, but conserved some just in case. Once they were done, they exited the room. However, they soon heard a monstrous roar. They turned their heads and in the middle of the room next to the weird cage thing were two large scorpion monsters. Jessie soon shoots one of the monsters in its fleshy areas and it screamed in pain. Ash and Cilan ran up to it and used their melee weapons to knock it to the ground and then kick it. However, as they did that, the other monster soon picked up Ash by the waist and make him look at it. Ash grunted as he tried to escape its grasp. He then looked at its eyes and then kicked it right on the rocky area. He then kicked it again as Pikachu jumped up and used Iron tail to break some of its rocky armor. Cilan soon runs up to and slammed his wrench into the monster's flesh. It screamed in pain. Ash then kicked the monster again and the armor broke.

The monster screamed again and let Ash fall to the ground. It then fell over. Ash then took a stern kick to it in one of its fleshy areas. After a while, the two boys and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Ash soon glared at the others. "Why didn't you do anything! I could've died!" Ash roared at them, his eyes becoming reptilian again. Jessie frowned. "Twerp, that metal thing was in the way, so our guns would be useless." Jessie said coldly. Misty and Iris nodded. "Besides, I'm the only one with another melee weapon and a Pokémon, but I'm in no condition to fight and neither is Axew." Iris protested. Ash growled as he messed up his hair some more. He then turned away and walked away. He could see a large gate blocking the lobby area, so searching that was out. The gang sighed and followed him. Tracy made many marks on his map. He found it weird that it changed whenever they were in this 'other world', but seeing the place changed like this, it was kind of understandable since this place was so much different from the normal world. He soon noticed the dining room area was blocked off. He sighed. They tried to open the door to the right, but it was jammed. They soon went to the double doors and found it was open. They smiled. They soon entered the hallway. Ash walked to the right door and found it open. The gang enters but sees a shadow monster. Ash soon quickly distracts it as the gang looked around. They didn't want to waste bullets on this thing. However, they couldn't find anything. Ash growled at the monsters as he blocked it's attack with his pipe. Pikachu not using any attacks to save up energy. "There's nothing here! Let's go!" Cilan yelled as the gang reached the door they came through. Ash pushed the monster away and the gang left the room. They breathed heavily as they relaxed. "Man, that was intense." Iris said. The others agreed.

"Too bad we didn't find anything." Misty said. The gang nodded. They soon went down the hallway to see if there was anything there. They quickly checked the doors, but the door to the other hallway was broken, the bathroom doors were broken, but oddly the laundry room was open. Jessie and James entered the area and found some health drinks that said to 'heal your body' and a police note. " _Attending Officer's Report. 2/4/1988. INo: VA4545-10. When I arrived at the *Blank* Hotel, the ambulance was already at the scene. The neighbor Mr. Bryant (who first called in the incident) had restrained Mr. *blank* and the paramedics were tending to the child. The wife, Mrs. *blank* had not yet arrived back from the grocery store. Thanks to Bryant's intervention, the gas had been turned off and the house ventilated – however, there was still a strong smell and I deemed it necessary to call the fire department as a precaution. It appeared that Mr. *Blank* had attempted to gas himself and his child. When I spoke to the suspect, Mr. *Blank*, he was uncoordinated and seemed enraged. He demanded I release him so he could 'kill the devil child'. He was clearly not in control of his mind. Mr. Bryant commented that several times in the previous weeks, he had heard loud arguments and screams from the room. He said '*Blank* has not been well for a while. Then again, I hardly know him so maybe he's always been like this'."_ The document said. They sighed and then left the room. The gang was waiting for them. "So what did you find?" Ash asked. Team Rocket soon showed them the document. Ash and the others were shocked to read this. "O-oh my." Misty said. Team Rocket nodded. "But…but it wasn't dad! It was the monster! Dad loves me! He's better! I… I…" Ash said, freezing up. Misty put a hand on his shoulder. "We know. We know Ash. This just shows how bad of a monster he was trapped with. Now we have to free him so it doesn't take control again." Misty said. Ash nodded. "We also found this health drink. Maybe it'll help heal wounds." James said. Ash rubbed his arms. "Why don't you give me that health drink? That monster really did do a number on me." Ash said. James nodded and gave Ash the bottle. Ash uncorked it and soon drank the stuff. It had a strange, strawberries taste to it, but also tasted like medicine. Ash made a face as he finished the bottle. He soon threw away the bottle. "Ugh. I hate the taste of medicine… but… I do feel better so there's a plus." Ash said as he moved his arms. The gang smiled. "So if we find more, we know it works." Iris said. Ash nodded. The gang smiled.

"Well, let's go to the stairwell now." Ash said. The gang nodded. After a bit of walking, they entered the stairwell. ' **There's nothing upstairs. They go up while YOU go down.** ' The voice said again. It had been a long while since he last heard from it. Ash sighed. "Team Rocket, you check the doors upstairs and we'll go downstairs and wait for you." Ash said. Team Rocket nodded and went upstairs. Misty looked at Ash. "There you go again with that. Let me guess, it's going to be blocked?" Misty asked. Ash nodded. "There's this 'voice' telling me this. I…I think it's the guardian. He's helping me a bit." Ash said. The gang sighed and go downstairs. Jessie and James soon reached upstairs and found the door was locked. Jessie growls as they turned around and go down stairs. Meanwhile, the gang checked around, but there was nothing there. After a while, Team Rocket had finally caught up with them. "Twerp, you knew the door was broken! Why did you asked us to go upstairs?" Jessie yelled angrily. Ash sighed as Tracy marked that on his map. "It was only a hunch. I wanted to make sure it was right or wrong. Plus, it didn't harm you, so don't be as mad…Hahaha. Besides, after what you've done to me, this makes us more even." Ash said with a big goofy smiled. Team Rocket sighed. The gang soon went through the doors. They went to the doors in front of them since there wasn't a monster in the way like last time, but the lock was broken. They sighed and then turned left. They soon began looking around the area but soon saw two shadows. Jessie soon shoots at the monsters and after four shots the monsters were dead. The gang sighed. Tracy looked at the map and smile. "At the end of the hall is the where the water area is, and if we're lucky, that key Ash flushed down will be there." Tracy said. Ash and the others smile and eminently ran down the hallway to far end door. They soon enter the area and walked down the stairs to the ground floor. They began looking around, although they were disgusted by the walls and the water. Ash soon noticed something on the ground and picked it up. He soon smiled. "Hey! I found the archives key!" Ash said as he held the key. The gang smiled. "That's great! Now we can exit this place in particular. It's really starting to creep me out." Misty said. The others nodded. They soon exited the room. However, they could see that the hallway was filled with shadow monsters. "Just run to the end of the hallway!" Ash ordered, although he wasn't entirely sure why. The gang nodded and quickly ran around the monsters, dodging the attacks. When one tried to attack them, Axew let out a mighty dragon breath. After a few dodges, they soon entered the far end hallway Ash had ordered them into. They breathed heavily.

"Man, that was hectic." Tracy said. The others agree. "Too many shadows for my taste." Misty said. The others nodded. Ash soon noticed the mirror at the far end. He walks over to it and touches it. Ash then screams in pain and their flashlights turned off as the ground shook. After a while, it stopped and Ash let go. The gang smiled once they saw that they were back in the 'normal' world. They soon rushed to Ash who collapses. "M-man, that's exhausting." He said. The gang nodded. Tracy soon puts him on his back. "Why don't you rest on my back while we look around?" Tracy said. Ash looked down as he wrapped his arms around Tracy's shoulders. "O-okay…here's my weapon." Ash said as he gave it to James. James smiled as he grabbed the weapon. Ash soon falls asleep. "You know, I would've suspected Ash would've fallen asleep sooner, but I guess being a kid, he's too stubborn." Iris said. The others nodded. They looked around, but there was nothing of use. They soon exited the room, unlocking the door. They soon walked to the stair well and entered. They soon slowly walked up the stairs. They eventually reached the second floor and entered the hallway. However, they soon saw a new monster in the way. It was one of the skull monsters. "Where's daddy?" It hissed. It The gang freaked and rushed right pasted it as it growled. They soon entered the room and saw one of the shadow monsters. The gang gasped and rushed right past it to the records room. Ash grunted as he woke up. He looked around, confused. "What was that?" He asked as Tracy opened the door. Misty looked at him. "A monster, now let's go in here!" Misty said. Ash completely woke up in shock as they entered the room. It was a small room with tons of audio tape reels, cabinets and a mirror to the left. Tracy quickly gave Ash back his weapon since the boy was clearly better at wielding it than him.

The gang walked up to the mirror when the lighting suddenly turned purple. _"I had to do it."_ 'Henry's' voice said. Ash held himself. Despite the man being Henry, he didn't sound like the man. _"You had to? Please help me understand."_ Another male voice asked. It was probably Dr. Harris, although the gang wasn't sure if it was him or another doctor. _"That's what you do with pests. That's what you do, isn't it?"_ 'Henry' said in a cold, yet gleeful voice. Ash shivered. They knew this wasn't Henry, but hearing the monster that took over him was chilling. _"He was a pest. Oh, he was a bad boy! Always has been. I tried to pretend he wasn't… but they were there to make sure I didn't forget."_ 'Henry' said. The gang was confused by this. _"They?"_ Dr. Harris asked, equally as confused as the gang. Ash wasn't sure why this monster was saying this. _"The people in the mirrors. They see it all! What's really going on."_ 'Henry' said. The gang was concerned about Henry now since they didn't want him to revert into this mad man. _"And it was their idea?"_ The other man asked. Ash gulped. He really didn't like this one bit. _"Yes. They saw the devil inside of him. The power that was rightfully mine but was now tainted by him! I had to kill him! My responsibility. My flesh and blood. I helped brought him into this world, so I had to take him out of it! Good wombs can bear bad sons, they say. I know you think what I did was wrong."_ 'Henry' said. The gang nodded. What that monster did was very wrong and they wanted it to go away so they could bring Henry back. _"I just want to understand… Eric-"_ The doctor said. The gang became confused. Eric? Was that the name of this monster? Why? Suddenly they heard something slam down hard, snapping them out of their questions. _"No! You just want to keep me locked up, doctor. But you can't. I can leave whenever I want. I can step through that mirror and into their world. This is just a daydream. Besides, he was the first to strike. If anything, I'd say he was like those Absols I saw back when I was on my journey. Wild, untamed, and causing destruction wherever he was. Still my wife refuses to believe that it was his fault. Saying that he will 'get better when he's older'. Ha. And you say I'm the one who's delusional."_ Eric said. The gang was confused and scared by this. _"Eric?"_ The doctor asked. Suddenly everything became quiet for a few seconds, when suddenly, Eric asked, "When will they bring me my boy?" After a few seconds, the world returned to 'normal'. The gang was shocked by this. They looked at Ash. "You a-attacked your family?" Misty asked Ash. Ash stepped back. "What? N-no! That monster's lying! It knows nothing about me! It's not dad! It doesn't love me! It…it…" Ash yelled, scared beyond all belief. The gang soon hugged him. "We know. We know. We… we just need to save Henry from this monster and everything will be okay." Cilan said. Ash sniffled and then looked at the gang.

"Y-yeah. D-daddy's alright. We… we just need to find him." Ash said. The gang nodded and let go of Ash. They sighed and then looked at the mirror. The gang sighed as Ash touched the mirror. However, Ash didn't scream this time as their flashlights turned off and the world shock. After a while, their flashlights turned on and the world was now the 'other world'. They sighed and looked around, however, there wasn't anything in the room. They soon went out the door once they realized this. They quickly checked the doors near them, but they were broken. The gang could hear small screams in the background that made them shiver. They soon entered the main area and saw one of the skull monsters. It growled and ran up to them. Ash swung at it. Knocking it away. It growled as it got up. The rest of the gang soon began checking the doors as Ash dealt with the monster. Pikachu got down on the floor and used a thunderbolt on the creature. It screamed in pain. It then looked at Ash. "Why daddy?" It asked. Ash growled. "I-I'm not your daddy! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ash roared and then slammed his pipe against the skull. It screamed in pain and fell over. Ash soon kicked it in the stomach. "Daddy…" It wheezed out before becoming limp. Ash breathed heavily. He felt terrible inside, but he knew he had to do it. He looked at the others. "The other doors are busted." Misty said after the gang came together and told each other about the doors. Ash nodded as he walked over to the other side of the room towards the woman's side of the building. He checked the two side doors but they were busted the gang soon walked over to him, dodging the dead monster. Misty felt sorry for it, but was glad it was dead. Tracy marked his map some more once he noticed Ash couldn't get his doors to open. Ash sighed as he looked at the others. They walked towards the double doors and to their relief, they were open. They soon entered the hallway. They quickly checked the door next to them, but it was busted. They soon continued forward.

The gang looked to their right when they reached the next double doors and saw that there was a giant gap there. Tracy marked it as they entered the room. It was another stairwell and the gang went down. They reached the first floor, but when they tried to open the doors, they found them busted. The gang sighed and continued into the basement. They quickly checked the bottom floor, but found nothing. They sighed and went into the hallway. They first tried to open the first door they saw, but found it broken. They soon heard a monstrous yell that belonged to the scorpion monsters. They turned to the right and saw one crawling around. Ash and Cilan soon attacked the monster, dodging the pincers and hitting its weak points. It screamed in pain. After a while, it fell to the floor. Ash soon kicked it until it stopped moving. The gang sighed once it was dead. The gang sighed once it was dead. They soon walked to the storage room. "Well, since the last one had a mirror, I bet this one has one as well. Why don't we check around this place some more before we use it?" Ash said. The others nodded. They turned left and saw half of the hallway was blocked off by broken pipes, thankfully there was another door they could use. They walked and entered the hallway. However, after a few steps, one of the cat monsters attacked them. Ash knocked it away with his pipe. Jessie soon used her shot gun twice to kill it. The gang sighed in relief once it was dead. Jessie refilled her gun as they walked forward and saw another cat monster walking around. Ash and Iris soon ran towards and used their weapons to beat it to death. Iris soon kicked it once it was down. The gang sighed once they were done. They soon reached the end of the hallway, however, when they turned left and tried to open the doors, it was blocked. The gang sighed and soon went to the other door and found themselves in another stairwell. They smiled. "Man I'm glad we're done with that." Jessie said. The others agreed. They soon went up the stairwell to the first floor, which they entered. They soon saw another cat monster. Ash and Iris soon attacked it, dodging its quick swipes. Meowth soon joined them by using furry swipes on the creature. It screamed as it fell over. Iris soon kicked it. Ash looked at the cat. "Thanks." Ash said. Meowth smiled. "No problem. Gives some more energy for Pikachu." Meowth said.

The gang sighed and went to the door that the cat monster was guarding. They soon entered the room and began searching. Ash soon noticed a note on one of the chairs. "Huh." He said. The gang walked over to him. "What is it?" Misty asked. Ash turned to the group. _"Medications (do not mess up!) Room 1: Trizanthium…which is oddly colored red. Room 2: satism which is blue. Room 3: Oporium which is yellow. Room four: Salorium which is green. And Room five: natrum which is blue again. (Remember, pills only for patients.)"_ Ash read the note, mentioning the colors of the words. The gang was weirded out by this. "What does it mean?" Iris asked. Ash shrugged. They looked at the doors and saw they all had numbers next to them. Jessie and James entered the first room and saw a bloody table with small razors and bandages rolls all over. They soon exited the room. Tracy and Iris went into the third room and saw something odd. There was a male business suit in a manqué next to the bed, scissors with tons of hair on top of a dresser, and male body sprays, but the tops were open so all the liquid was long gone. "This is the female seclusion ward, yes?" Iris asked. Cilan nodded. "Yes, but…what are these items doing here?" Cilan asked. Iris sighed as they exited the room. The second room was scored by heat, was black, and couldn't be opened so Ash and Misty went over to the fourth room. However, it was heavily barred. Ash soon flinched as he closed his eyes. He breathed heavily as he saw himself stabbing a man to death. He soon shocked the image away. "Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked. Ash looked at her and smiled. "Y-yeah. W-why don't we go into five now?" Ash asked. Misty nodded and they entered room five.

They soon smelled something terrible and covered their noses. They walked over to the far end and saw piles of uneaten food that was what was causing the smell. They soon saw a set of scales that looked like they've seen a lot of use. They soon exited the room and let out a heavy gasp. They soon looked at their friends. "So what did you find out?" Ash asked. They smiled. "Room one deals with someone who cuts themselves." James said. Cilan walked over to them. "And room three has a woman who dresses like a man. Although I don't know why that's a bad thing. I know it's super rare and kind of weird, but I don't see what's really wrong with that." Cilan said. Iris and Misty nodded. "I don't know. Maybe it was a thing when I was much younger, but who really knows. Anyways, room two seemed to be a pyromaniac and room five is about someone who won't eat." Ash said. Misty nodded. "We don't know what room four is, but hopefully it won't be too bad." Misty said. The others nodded and left the room to go into the hallway. They soon checked the doors. Dorm 5's and dorm 3's doors were blocked. However, once they reached the bathroom, they saw two nurses walked up. Ash and Cilan soon used their weapons against them, and after dodging a bit of their attacks, they were knocked down and kicked them. They soon checked the bathroom, but found the door broken. They soon checked the double doors but found them broken. They sighed and entered the smaller room. Once inside, they looked around, and after a while, they noticed five miniature female dolls screwed into the top of an ornate cabinet. Ash and the others noticed that the top drawer was open with four small sections filled with pills. There was red, blue, yellow, and green. Ash gulped as he looked at the dolls. There were three in the front and two in the back. The first doll had green eyes, was bloody, and held two knives. Ash held his head. He could hear Edward laughing in glee. Ash shocked it away as he looked at the other dolls. The next one was a fat, red, and bloated in the face. The next doll was a skinny as a rail with its arms twigs in an x pose. The next doll was fat, had small claw marks all over it and a razor on its belly. The next was an odd one. It was female doll with large breasts wearing a mustache and a yellow male suit. Ash pulled out his note. "The thin one is room five, so it gets a blue pill." Ash said. Misty picked it up and put it in her mouth. The others stepped back as they gave Misty and Ash their room. "The burned one is room two since it was burnt as well. It gets a blue pill." Ash said. Misty nodded and gave the doll a blue pill.

"That one that looks like a guy, that was room three, right?" Ash asked Cilan. Cilan nodded. "Yes. It would get a yellow pill." Cilan said as he looked at the note. Misty nodded and gave the doll the yellow pill. "Okay, what about the ones with the blades?" Misty asked. Jessie smiled. "Room one had a tone of razor blades, so the one with the razor blade is obviously room one." Jessie said. Ash nodded. "I-It's red." Ash said, sounding nervous. Misty sighed and gave the fourth doll a red pill. "Ash, are you okay? You seemed focused on that first doll." Iris said. Ash held his head. "M-maybe because it looks like Edward…but anyways, since this is the last doll it g-gets a gr-green pill." Ash said. Misty nodded and gave the doll the pill. Suddenly the middle compartment opened and they could see a key. Misty picked it up. "Hey, this is Dr. Harris's key! Now we get the key he has and rescue Henry!" Misty said with a smile. Ash soon became happy. "Daddy!? Oh yes! YES! We can finally get him back!" Ash said, supper happy. His eyes soon flashed green. "Now Pyramid Head will PAY for trapping Henry away." Ash said, but his voice sounded off. His friends sighed as Misty put away the key. "Ash, maybe we should sit down and sleep. Especially you Ash. You must be exhausted." Misty said. Ash sighed. "Y-yeah. L-Let's." Ash said, feeling strange. The gang soon pulled out their sleeping bags and went to sleep. It was a bit hard since they were stuck in a creepy sanitarium, but they were too exhausted to go on anymore. After a while, they fell into sleep.

(Ash's dream.)

Ash was floating in the air like a ghost as he looked down. The place he was in looked like the sanitarium but clean, full of nurses of both gender, and smelling fresh. "Wh-where am I?" Ash asked. Ash soon looked down and saw himself walking down a corridor. He followed him into a large room, and in the middle of the room was Henry strapped to a bed. Ash's body soon walked up to the man. _"Lost in the darkness, Silence surrounds you. Once there was morning, Now endless night. If I could reach you, I'd guide you and teach you to walk from the darkness, back into the light. Deep in your silence, please try to hear me; I'll keep you near me till night passes by. I will find the answer. I'll never desert you- I promise you this- till the day that I die…"_ Satoshi's voice sang out of Ash's body. He soon kissed the man on the forehead. "Good night father." Satoshi said then left the area. Ash was deeply confused. Suddenly the area became wrapped in darkness. Ash closed his eyes, but when he opened them, he and Satoshi were in front of a group of strangers. Ash had the feeling that he knew them, but it was just the faintest of hints. Ash was confused. What was going on? This couldn't possibly be himself nor Satoshi. Satoshi was long dead before Ash's father became insane and Ash didn't know his father used to be insane. And why did he sing in the first place? Ash sighed as the man in corner spoke up. The board of Governors of St. Jude's Hospital is now in session." The little man said then began to say the board members' names as they entered from the left of the area. "Sir Danvers Carew, KBE, Chairman." A man of 50 with short white hair, a medium size body, black clothes, and wore a red bowtie. Satoshi smiled. Ash was confused by this. "His Grace, The Bishop of Basington." The man said. Another man walked into the room. He had swirly medium size hair with blue eyes, a black suit with a blue shirt, and white cuffs. "General Lord Gossip." The man enters with short brown hair, a large brown mustache, a blue outfit, and white collar. "The Right Honorable Sir Archibald Props, Q.C." Another man came in with spiky red hair, a red coat, a collar, and big cuffs. "Lady Beaconsfield." The recorder said. The woman had swerve light brown hair, red lips, brown eyes, and wore a brown woman's business suite as she went to her seat. "Lord Savage." A man with blonde hair in a mullet, a grey shirt, and a blue tie walked in. "The Order of business will be conducted by the Secretary to the Board of Governors, Mr. Kenny Stride." Soon a young man with red brown hair came into view with black eyes. Ash recognized his face as Dawn's childhood rival, Kenny. Mr. 'Stride' soon got up to the head podium. Ash blinked. "Kenny? What's he doing here?" Ash asked, more confused than ever.

"Proposition No. 929 - Presented by Dr. Satoshi Jekyll." The type writer guy said as he finished. Satoshi smiled and knew this was his chance to finally speak. Ash became even more confused. Was this taking place in Satoshi's past? If so, why was Kenny here? And why did things seem so…modern? Ash didn't know what ancient Pokelantis was like, but he was pretty sure it wasn't like this. _"Distinguished Governors, I have glimpsed the future. Seen miracles that stun the mind and marvels only science can find to shape tomorrow for mankind. And I can show them to you if you wish me to~._ _Friends, you're aware there are two sides to each of us. Good and evil, compassion and hate. If we could extract all the evil from each of us, think of the world that we could create! A world without anger or violence or strife, where man wouldn't kill anymore! A world of compassion, where passion for life would banish the madness of war! I'm close to finding the key to duality. Chemical Formulae which could and would alter the patterns of man's personality. Guiding him either to evil or good! Weigh the potential, the great possibilities Colleagues - dear friends, understand! We have a chance to make history here in our hand!"_ Satoshi sang. Ash was even more confused. "Formulas? Chemicals? Satoshi, I thought you were into magic, what this about science? And what are you talking about?" Ash asked, confused, however the man didn't seem to hear him. In fact, none of them seemed to hear him. Ash sighed. He really wished he knew what was going on. "Each of us is the embodiment of two distinct and opposing forces - Good and Evil - each fighting for supremacy inside us. If we could separate these two forces, we could control and ultimately eliminate all evil from mankind. My experiments with animals have led me to believe that the day is not far off when this separation will be possible. To achieve it, I must be allowed to try my formula on a living human being." Satoshi said, using his calm and collected tone. The Bishop of Basingstoke soon got up with an angered face. "And what if you're right, Jekyll? And you do manage to separate Good from Evil - What happens to the EVIL?" Basingstoke yelled.

Jekyll sings, _"There are doomed, broken souls in a thousand asylums. I defy you to say you don't care if you can! In the name of compassion and medical science, I can save many LIVES if you give me one man!"_ Ash soon remembered his father and nodded. This seemed like a good idea. The Bishop of Basingstoke slams his right fist on the counter. "I tell you NOW - the Church will never sanction it!" The Bishop sang. Soon various people began to sing, _"Sacrilege! Lunacy! Blasphemy! Heresy!"_ Ash growled. He didn't know why exactly, but he was really starting to hate the board. Sir Archibald Props soon looked at Jekyll. _"You seem to be treading on dangerous ground. In legal terms, I'd say, extremely unsound!"_ Archibald sang. The Bishop of Basingstoke fallows up by singing, _"The whole thing's un-Christian, barbaric, and odd! You're playing with fire when you start to play God!"_ Ash rolled up his sleeves, he really wanted to punch them. Stride sings, _"The Bishop speaks for all of us, when he says you're playing God! There's such a thing as ethics over which you ride rough-shod! You're a Doctor, not a savior, Doctor Jekyll, for a start! But I judge from your behavior you can't tell the two apart~!"_ Satoshi growls. He lowers his sight away. Ash was really confused. 'Dr. Jekyll?' Ash thought, then his head began to become numb. Jekyll soon calmly begins to sing, _"Dear Mr. Stride, I am simply a scientist. I have a code to which I remain true! I don't presume to the stature of moralist. I leave pretension like that Sir to YOU!"_ He looks up in anger as he sings the last part with rage dripping from his words. Ash growled as well. Sir Danvers became very upset. _"Satoshi, I've always encouraged your enterprise, and I've been hopeful that you would succeed! But in the face of these powerful arguments, I see no choice but for you to concede!"_ Danvers sings. Jekyll became very sad and desperate. _"I know my fate is yours to choose, but if they win, the world would lose! I am on the brink of great success! I beg you, Governors, you must say 'Yes!'"_ Jekyll yells. The others were angered by this. _"Doctor Jekyll, enough of this ranting, Sir! This is a hospital, here to save lives!"_ She sang. The Governors soon sang in unison, _"Do you think we would let you play havoc with all the high principles for which it strives? Do you expect us to compromise all that we stand for indulging your dangerous games? Sacrifice all common sense for your dubious games?"_

 _"Can't you see I am not playing games!"_ Satoshi yelled, he and Ash were on the breaking point. He looked at the governors with pleading eyes. _"Just give me the opportunity."_ Jekyll sings in pain. Ash was now holding Satoshi out of fear. General Gossip yells, _"This whole thing's too bizarre!"_ Sir Danvers angrily looks at Jekyll. _"Open up your eyes and see!"_ Danvers sings, which hurts the doctor and Ash inside. The Bishop of Basingstoke soon raises his fist into the air and sings in anger, _"This man has gone too far!"_ Ash growled, his anger rising again. " _Unless you listen to me..."_ Jekyll sang as he tried to both calm himself and try to make them understand him. Stride interrupts the doctor by yelling, _"Doctor, please watch your tone! Dammit, man, can't you see? You're on your own!"_ Jekyll eyes shrank at this revelation. Ash suddenly grabbed his cane. He couldn't hold it in any longer. _"FOOLS! YOU FOOLS!"_ The doctor and Ash screamed to the heavens. Sir Danvers was shocked at this. "SATOSHI!" He yells. Props yells, "Jekyll!" Dr. Jekyll soon stares in anger at the boards. _"God damn ..."_ Ash began to say as The Bishop of Basingstoke quickly was able to yell out, "Blasphemy!" before Ash yelled, _"... your rules!"_ General Gossip was horrified by the doctor's words and Lord Savage screams, "MADDNESS!" Ash howls a wolf's roar and yells, _"Look at yourselves! Civilized men..."_ Lady Beaconsfield was shocked by this and says, "Good graces!" Ash stepped forward as he felt a chain snapped. _"Why can't you see~?!"_ Jekyll and Ash roared in anger. Something unhuman was seen in the man's and the boy's eyes. Everyone was disgusted. "Uncivilized monster." Glossop said. Soon Strive hits the gabble on the stone and yells, "ORDER! ORDER!" This snaps Ash and Jekyll out of their rage. Jekyll soon calms himself. He shacks nervously, his hair looking more like a mess and was puffier. _"If I ever needed further justification for my experiments, gentlemen, you have just provided it! Just look at what has happened here! Mix anger with a touch of fear, the danger's all too crystal-clear just look at you! Our darker side keeps breaking through. Observe it now in me and you! The evil that all men can do must be controlled! I beg of you, I'll show you all, it can be done!"_ The doctor busted out in rage again as he sang.

Satoshi soon stops himself and calms himself. _"Here is a chance to take charge of our fate. Deep down you must know that tomorrow's too late! One rule of life we cannot rearrange; the only thing constant is change. The only thing constant..._ is change." Jekyll sang sadly. Stride looks at the other governors in anger. _"Distinguished colleagues, your verdict, please. All those in favor say 'Aye'."_ Stride said. There were few seconds of silence. _"All those opposed, 'Nay'."_ Kenny asked them. Suddenly the board broke the calm. _"NAY! NAY! NAY! NAY! POSITIVELY-ABSOLUTELY- NAY~!"_ They all yelled except for Sir Danvers. Stride looks at the old man. "Sir Danvers?" Stride asked. Satoshi looked at the man with hopeful sad eyes. "Abstain." The man said. Satoshi and Ash felt their heart shattered. Ash clenches his chest. The rage was overwhelming them again. "By five votes to none-with one abstention. Proposition 929 is rejected. Thank you for your time, Dr. Jekyll." Stride said. Satoshi falls to his knees. Tears in his eyes. "I am truly sorry, Satoshi." Danvers says. Soon the board of Governors left. Satoshi got up and used his cane to wobble to the front door. Once out, he notices he was alone. Ash was there too, but the man couldn't see him. Satoshi leaned on the door. _"All these precious years I've dedicated to this dream. Now with a word they claim the power to deny me! Who are they to judge what I am doing? They know nothing of the endless possibilities I see! It's ludicrous; I'm bound by their decision. Seems vision is a word they've never heard. If it mattered less, I'd treat it with derision. It's absurd. And yet the fact remains... THOSE BASTARDS hold the reins!"_ Satoshi sings, however the bitter taste of disappointment and anger still hanged in his mouth. He soon walked out of the area coldly. Meanwhile, Ash was shaking in anger. He didn't know what was going on anymore, but he didn't care. He was angry at the board. "They need to pay. They **all** need to pay. Screw the rules. I will NEVER let them get away with this. What they did to daddy…hehehe… they won't get away with it." Ash said as his eyes became lizard like. He soon began to laugh like a maniac as his body became more monstrous as he grew a long lizard tail, his hands became black claws, and black horns popped out of his head. After a while, everything faded to black.

(Back in the real world.)

Everyone yawned as they woke up. Ash groaned as he got up. He held his head. It was a bit fuzzy. All he could remember from his dream was rage and the songs. Then again, about ninety percent of it was songs, so he felt like it was a lot. He then got up and put away his bag. 'What was that dream about anyways? What does it have to do with dad and getting him out of this place? Why was Satoshi there? Why was he singing? Why the 'dr. Jekyll' thing?' Ash asked himself, however no answers came to him. He sighed. After getting ready, the gang soon exited the room. However, they soon heard the howl of the cat monster. Ash soon saw it coming towards them. Ash soon wacked it away with his pipe. The gang soon ran out of the stair well, dodging another cat monster. They soon entered the stairwell. The gang sighed as they looked up. "I wonder what's up there." Ash said. Cilan and Iris smiled. "We'll check and you'll wait down stairs." Cilan said. Iris nodded. Ash and the others nodded and went downstairs as Cilan and Iris went upstairs. However, the two found the door blocked. They sighed and go downstairs. After a while, the two groups reunite. "Man I can't wait to be out of here." Iris said. The gang nodded. They were really getting tired of seeing monsters. They soon entered the basement. They soon freaked as they saw a shadow monster. They quickly ran down the long hallway to the left. They soon dodged another shadow that was in the middle of the hallway. They soon opened the double doors and entered the next hallway, shutting the door behind them. "Man, those shadow monster are freaky. I wish we would stop seeing them." Meowth said. The others nodded. They soon rushed over to the storage room and enter. The room was pretty borane with only a few shelves. The gang quickly checked them, but there was nothing other than the mirror.

"You know. I wonder if any of us can use it other than Ash. Of course I've tried and failed, maybe someone else can do it." Iris wondered. The gang, except for Ash, soon touched the mirror, however, nothing happened. Ash sighed. "It seems like I'm the only one with this strange power, well except for Edward of course." Ash said. The gang nodded. Ash soon touched the mirror. Their flashlights soon turned off and the world shock. After a few seconds, it stopped, their flashlights turned back on and they were back in the 'normal' world. The gang sighed in relief. They really didn't like the 'other world'. They soon looked around, however it wasn't long before they found another note. Tracy was the one to find it so he was the one to read it. _"Amber incident report. Reporting Staff member: Simons. Incident Description: A male child entered into the sanitarium unchallenged and got through into male seclusion (doors were left unlocked). He entered Male Seclusion Room 5, at which point Orderly Michaels observed him and alerted me. The boy was the child of a visitor and was taken away by his mother. Failures: The doors to Male seclusion were left unlocked by the orderly, and the staff in the lobby failed to notice the boy when he arrived in the mezzanine area. Recommendation: All staff to be reminded of the importance of locking ward doors. Review of staff to be conducted by duty managers."_ The note said. The gang looked at Ash as he blushed. "What? I was worried about dad. You would understand. Also we learned what the main area is called." Ash said. The gang sighed and left the room. They could hear a creaking sound and saw a pile of junk just ahead that blocked the hallway. They checked the door near them but it was blocked. They sighed and saw another cat monster. The gang gasped and ran past it, Ash knocking the monster away when it tried to claw at them, as they ran into the stairwell. They soon walked up the stairs to the first floor and saw that the second floor was blocked by a large metal grate. They soon entered the first floor. They looked right and saw a giant hole in the hallway. They soon walked up the double doors and saw that the side door was blocked by junk. They sighed as they unlocked the double doors and enter the mezzanine. However, they were soon surprised to see that the shadow monsters had appeared here. They soon ran to Dr. Harris's room. Misty soon used the key to open it and they quickly entered the room. They sighed once they shut the door behind them.

They soon looked around. The place was pretty cozy and well preserved compared to all the other rooms and the 'otherworld'. The gang smiled. It was nice having a bit of normalcy. They looked around, when Ash noticed a few things on his desk. He picked up a package and opened it to see a strange artifact. The word 'Jocasta artifact' rang in his head, like he knew what it was despite never seeing it before. Then he picked up a torn note. Ash gulped and then read it aloud. _"The new patient, Eric Ketchum, arrived today. I was surprised to see how calm and well behaved he was. After reading his notes, I was worried that he might be something of a handful. The man is in complete denial and claims no recollection of the incident which saw his committed. Indeed, he has asked repeatedly to be allowed to see his son! I have agreed with his wife that it is best that the boy be kept away from his father. While there seems little hope for any long term recovery, I look forward to spending some time with Mr. Ketchum – his condition is most fascinating."_ Ash read. Ash and the others were disbelief by this. "Wait…the man who we've been hearing about…isn't Henry? And don't say that it's 'just a nickname'. Why would it be in reports? It wouldn't make sense unless this was his real name." Jessie said, confused. Ash held his head. "I…I don't know. This is so confusing. Maybe…maybe this is dad's dad. You know my grandpa. Although…the dates are odd…and…ugh…I'm so confused." Ash said. The gang sighed. "I have no idea what's going on anymore." Misty said. The gang nodded then sighed. "Why don't we exit this room and go to the cell? Maybe…maybe then we can understand what's going on." Tracy said. The gang nodded. They soon exited the room. They soon noticed the monsters were gone. They sighed in relief. They soon noticed something on the ground. Ash walked up to it and picked it up. It was a crude drawing of a family of three. _"Daddy, Momma and…and Henry…"_ Ash said. This made the gang even more confused. "Henry? Your father? But why is there a note here? Was it made back when Henry was nuts?" Misty asked. Ash shocked his head.

"No. This…This looks like something I drew. But…what does it mean?" Ash said, even more confused. The gang was concerned and looked at the drawing. It was made by a little kid so it couldn't have been Henry. "Well, maybe your father's just a bad drawer. Who knows really. I'm just trying to make this make sense." Cilan said. Ash sighed. "Why don't we just go the room Dad's in? Then we'll have our answers." Ash said. The gang nodded. They soon went to the west room where they first found the map. They soon went to the main hallway again and went to the male section of the area. Oddly there wasn't a monster to be seen or heard, which creeped them out but also relaxed them. The gang soon entered the men's bathroom where the mirror was. Ash sighed as he looked at his reflection. He then touched the mirror. Suddenly he felt the pain come back. He screamed in pain as the flashlights turned off and the world shock. After a few seconds, Ash stopped screaming and everything was back to 'normal'. The gang sighed as they looked around. They were back in the 'otherworld' and they hoped that this was the last time they would be stuck this hell hole. They soon exited the room and walked to the end of the hallway where the strange depression was. Ash soon pulled out the artifact and put it in the depression. Ash soon touched the door and it opened up. The gang gulped as they entered the area. Whatever was on the other side was waiting for them, and they were ready.


	18. Chapter 17

ch. 17

 **(Hey it's Aura. Sorry this took so long. I had a LOT of rewriting to do and had writer's block, plus I've been very tired lately. Ugh. Well I'm glad it's over with. Now we can leave the Sanitarium and go to other parts of town. What's up ahead and what will the gang learn? Well, you just need to read ahead to learn.)**

Ash and the gang looked around as they entered the male seclusion ward. It was every bit as creepy as the rest of the other world, but they soon saw something surprising. Next to a door with the letter 'V' on it was Lisa. She was looking down in a sadden state. The gang gasped in shock, although Team Rocket was confused more than anything. The gang soon put their weapons into their bags. Once they did that, Ash walked towards her. "Lisa?" Ash asked in confusion, "You're here too? Can you see all this stuff? Is it all dark for you too?" The woman held her head. "I… It's so sad." She said as she moved her head away, "They can't do anything for him. He just sits there… He wants his boy so badly." She looked at Ash. "Dad!? Don't worry, I'm… we're going to save him. There's no need to be sad." Ash said, very happy. Lisa's face became a scowl as she stood up. "No. No! You KNOW who's in there!" She yelled and then ran off. She pushed the others away as she exits the room. "What the?" Ash asked, confused as he looked at her leave. He then looked at the door. It was a steel door with a round object on it for some reason. The gang was confused. "What was that all about?" Misty asked. The gang shrugged. "Who was she anyways, twerps?" Jessie asked. Ash smiled. "Oh, she's the nurse who helped heal me after YOU GUYS put that weird disk into me! Thankfully it's out and everything is fine." Ash said, getting a little angry, but calming down enough at the end to smile. Team Rocket was shocked to hear this. "What!? That disk thing was outside of you when we met!?" They yelled. The gang blinked in confusion. "Um… yeah. Lisa showed us the disk when Ash first woke up. I know you weren't there, but why are you this shocked? What was that thing supposed to do?" Misty answered, confused. Team Rocket sweated. "Well, it was an amplifier of magic. Apparently you need a high level of magic in order to cast the spell we used, but I guess it didn't matter, the spell didn't do what we wanted it to do." James said. Ash smirked. "It's okay. What's important is that we…" Ash said, then noticed some pictures pinned up all around the room. "Huh? These pictures… they're… familiar… was I the kid who went in here… or… was it dad?" Ash asked as he looked at one that was near the door Lisa was near. He soon wondered 'Why do I feel uneasy when I look at this?' He wondered. It was just a bunch of scribbles that he couldn't make out, however it made Ash feel uneasy.

Ash then looked at another which was to the left and it had violent, heavy scribbles. He then looked at the one to the left. He could see a man and small horned thing holding hands. 'This looks strange.' Ash thought. "Ash, I thought you wanted to save your father?" Misty asked. Ash sighed. "I do… but… maybe these pictures hold a key in helping him." Ash said. It was the best reason his head could think of. The gang sighed as Ash walked around the group to the next scribble. The gang soon looked at the first scribble Ash looked at, however, they had no idea what they were. Ash unnerved by this next one. It was some kind of horned creature with black eyes and sharp teeth. Ash touched his own large fangs. "What is it? A monster? A child?" Ash asked, scared. Pikachu was getting worried. Ash then walked over to the next one. This one of a woman or something but he couldn't tell what it was, but it unsettled him. Ash then went to the next one. It was sideways and had three people, but one's face was scribbled out. It was weird to say the least. Ash soon went to the next one which was pinned to the left of the double doors. However, he couldn't make out anything in this one. He then went to the next drawing. This one was a crayon drawing but parts of it were scribbled out. Ash sighed. He really didn't like looking at these, but there had to be a reason as to why they were here. Ash soon went to the next one which was a child's drawing and similar to the one found on the ground. It was of a black hair boy giving something to a man. Ash then looked at the next one and wondered 'who drew this?' It was of the man turning on what looked like a stove. Ash gulped as he remembered the report.

Ash then went to the next drawing which disturbed him. It was of a woman holding a crying baby. Ash then when to the next drawing which was slightly burnt. It was a crude, childish drawing of three people. One looked like Henry, one looked like himself but with monster hands, and the other was his mom. Ash held his chest and looked away. He didn't want to think of these things any more. Ash soon tried opening the other cell doors, but all of them were broken. He sighed once he reached the last door he looked at his friends who were all distracted. He wanted to tell them that he was going in now, but a part of him told him that if they followed him, they would only get hurt. He soon noticed Jessie turning to him and giving him her gun and ammo. "Here, just in case you need it." She said. Ash gulped as he grabbed the items. "Are you sure? And are you going to tell the others?" He asked, a bit scared. She shocked her head. "No. This is a thing you need to do alone… well, with Pikachu of course." She said with a smile. Ash sighed and then looked at the door. He then entered the place. Everyone hears they turned and rushed to the door but it was locked. Misty then turned to Jessie. "Why did you let him run off like that!?" Misty yelled. Jessie sighed. "Because our 'boss' told us that only he can go in there. And I don't want to upset that thing. Besides, I gave him my… Henry's shot gun, just in case, plus he has that pipe and Pikachu. So he'll be fine." Jessie said. Misty and the others sighed and looked at the door. "I hope you're right. Cause I don't think Henry's in there." Iris said. The others nodded. They didn't know why, but something else was waiting for Ash, and it was dangerous. Back with Ash and Pikachu, everything was now in the purple vision and Ash was now a small boy wearing a small sleeveless shirt with a Pokeball-ish design, shorts, a small backpack, and sandals. He was looking around scared with a Pichu on his shoulder. _"Grandpa? Momma told me you were dead. Are you dead?"_ Ash asked. The boy then saw something that was defiantly not human. It was wrapped in bandages held by many wires that was being held a circular sheet around him that perturbed out that was being held by a giant metal half-moon thing that was being suspended in the air by wires. Ash walked towards the monster. _"I'm not dead. Locked away! Out of sight, out of mind. Not gone. I would never leave you like that. I asked them to bring my boy to me."_ He said, but it wasn't Henry's voice though. It was the voice of the man the gang had kept hearing whenever the world turned purple.

Suddenly everything returned to normal, except for the monster. "Grandpa…" Ash said. Pikachu, however, knew better as it began to charge up an attack. "Come here Henry. Let daddy take a look at you." The monster said as Ash stepped back in horror as he realized this… thing wasn't his father nor a human being. Ash tried to open the door but it was locked. Ash then looked at the monster and soon ran away as Pikachu let out a thunderbolt on it, slowing it slightly. Ash soon pulled out the shotgun and began shooting. The monster screaming in pain. It soon lifts into the air and lowers as a set of large blades form out as it got closer. Ash freaked as he ran away. Once far away, Ash soon refilled his gun, which held four bullets. He was really glad Jessie gave him the gun. He wouldn't stand a chance if he only used his simple pipe, which was now in his backpack. Ash soon notice the monster coming closer and a brown-ish mist began to form out of the man. Ash smelled the mist and coughed. It was poisonous gas. Ash ran around the creature as Pikachu jumped up and used an electro ball. Ash soon shoots at the monster four times. Suddenly it got up and lower as spikes poked out. Ash dodged out of the way as Pikachu used another electro ball. The blades soon retracted. Ash soon rushed away as Pikachu used a thunderbolt to distract the creature. Ash soon reloaded his shotgun. 'What is this thing? Was it really grandpa?' Ash thought as he soon began shooting at the monster. It groaned and then used the gas, causing Ash to ran away. Pikachu soon uses a thunderbolt on the creature from a safe distance. Ash was soon in a corner when the gas stopped.

Ash breathed heavily as he reloaded his gun. He soon shot at the monster three times until he heard a loud male yell. Suddenly the world began to shake. Pikachu quickly ran up to Ash as Ash smiled. Suddenly the monster lifted itself to the ceiling and let out another yell of pain. Ash breathed heavily as he looked at the monster. It was finally over. Suddenly he noticed something in the middle of the room in a red circle. Ash walked up to it and picked it up. It was a piece of a news article. _"April 10_ _th_ _, 1887. A strange sets of murders have been hitting the streets of Yoka Village. There is not a lot in common with the victims other than they work at Alchamellia's Hospital. We have asked Dr. Henry Jekyll about the murders since he was rejected for a project by the board, however, he says that he has gotten over it. But has he? Is he the killer? What of the rumors of this 'executioner' character that resembles our famous executioner? Only time will tell what is the truth."_ The article said. Ash was confused. What was this article talking about? 'Henry Jekyll?' Ash thought, the name oddly familiar. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Ash turned to see Henry. Ash rushed to him. "Dad!" Ash yelled as he hugged the man. "I was so scared. What's going on!? Was that I fight grandpa? Why did he mistake me for you? What's going on with me? Dad, I'm so confused." Ash said. Pikachu agreed, equally confused. Henry looked away. "Ash… I… I'm sorry for everything but... I can't stay. There's still so much more you need to know. So much more left to learn. So much pain you need to remember. I'm sorry for lying about who the mad man you kept hearing was. The truth is, yes that person was my father, and yes, you were still hurt son, but… I… I just wanted to give you the right motivation whenever I got trapped here again. To tell you the truth, I am…" Henry began saying then began to breath heavily. Henry soon fell to his knees. "Ash, I can't stay! You need to run away! Get as far away from me as possible before I hurt you again!" Henry yelled as he pushed Ash away. Ash reached out for the man as he got up. Henry began back away. "Wait… No, d-don't go… I need to know…" Ash said, feeling dizzy and his head pounding as he heard a siren screaming in the background, calling him. Pikachu was equally feeling pain. Ash then fell to his knees and then fell to his face. He and Pikachu soon blacked out. Meanwhile, with the others, the hear the siren and then held their ears in pain, however, the screaming siren was impossible to ignore. They soon quickly fainted out of pain and everything became black.

…

"Daddy… daddy…" Ash mumbled in his sleep as he lied on a bench. Ash's eyes opened quickly as he quickly sat up, knocking Pikachu off his lap. "Dad!" Ash yelled as he woke up and reached out his arm. Ash soon realized he was no longer in the area he had fainted in. Pikachu had been on his lap and due to Ash siting up, he was forced to the ground. Ash blushed as he noticed this. "Sorry buddy." Ash said as Pikachu woke up and glared at him, his cheeks sparking. Pikachu soon sighed as he calmed down a bit. Ash smiled as he got up. Ash soon held the bridge of his nose. His head was still pounding. Ash sighed and soon looked around. He then quickly saw his friends sleeping on some coaches to his left. Ash soon noticed that they were at the beginning of the area. "Was… was what I just experienced just an elaborate dream?" Ash asked. Pikachu shocked his head and told Ash that he remembered what happened during their time in the Sanitarium. Ash nodded and soon noticed he was holding the newspaper he found. "Well, I guess it wasn't a dream." Ash said. Misty groaned as she got up. "What wasn't a dream?" She sleepily asked as she and the others began to wake up. They soon yawned. Ash gulped as he looked at them. "Well... when I woke up, I assumed everything that happened with Henry and the Sanitarium was a dream. You know, since that who experience was really weird, but obviously that's not true." Ash said as the others walked over to him. Misty and Cilan rubbed their heads. "Yeah. I remember all of it too. So it can't be a dream." Cilan said. The others nodded. "Still… that was a very weird experience." Iris said. The others nodded.

Misty looked at Ash. "But Ash, what happened to you after you went into that cell? We heard gun shots and screams. Although we couldn't make out anything you said." Misty said, confused. Ash gulped as remembered the strange monster he met. "A-actually, I… I met... Eric first… and then I met Henry but Eric attacked me before that happened…" Ash said then looked down, looking awkward. The gang was confused. "Eric? The man that was in the report?" Misty asked. Ash nodded. "Y-yeah… well… no. It was and it wasn't Eric… It's weird. It was some monstrous version of him. I don't know if it was the real him, his ghost, or maybe just a memory of him created by Edward to mess with me, but he… he… he's my grandfather, but the odd thing is he called me Henry and then attacked me! I had to kill it to defend myself. After I did that, Henry appeared out of nowhere. Dad apologize for lying about who Eric was and told me he was my grandpa. But… I don't know why that picture I drew said my name was Henry of all things, but I guess we'll understand that when we find dad again." Ash said, a bit fumble with his words. The gang became shocked. "Again!?" They said, some in anger, others in pure shock. Ash nodded. "Dad said that he was trapped. That he's in trouble. I wanted to help him, but… then I got this headache. The next thing I knew I woke up here." Ash said. The gang thought about this. "That's very odd." Cilan said. The others nodded. "We did hear that siren after a while and it caused us to have a major headache that knocked us out, so maybe, the guardian caused that. Maybe he did that so we could be transported with you when the world changed." James said. Ash sighed. "Maybe. Honestly I have no idea." Ash said. The gang sighed. "Anyways, I'm sorry for acting like Edward earlier. Laughing at attacking monsters, being mean to you guys, and the like. I… I was just scared. I didn't know what to do and… Edward caused me to act like him." Ash said as he looked away. The gang smiled. "It's okay. We understand. But you need to be more careful. We don't want Edward taking over your mind again." Iris said. The others nodded. Ash smiled as he looked at them. He soon got up. "Come on, let's get out of here." Ash said as he walked towards the doors that lead them out of the Sanitarium.

"Ash wait! The doors are still closed. We didn't find a key so we can't go out." Tracy said. Ash stopped he almost forgot about that. **'Don't worry, the doors are open. We can leave now.'** The voice said. Ash blinked. 'Who are you? Are… are you the guardian?' Ash asked the voice. However, he didn't get a response. Ash sighed as he grabbed the doors. He twisted the knobs and they suddenly opened. Ash smiled. "Yes! My hunch was right again!" Ash said, very happy. The gang was confused, but also happy that Ash's charm was back on. They needed it if they were going to get out of this town. Tracy pulled out the town map. "Ash, remember, we need to get more supplies and medical stuff first before we find Henry." Tracy said. Ash smirked. "Alright, we go to Team Rocket's base of operations, figure out a few things, go to Danvers's house, since Pyramid Head could've token him there, free Henry, go to the hospital to get more supplies, and then we get out of here!" Ash said, supper excited. The gang smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, before we forget, what's that paper in your hand?" Misty asked Ash. Ash looked at it and blushed as he put it away. "Oh, this? It's nothing really. Just some murderer called the 'executioner' terrorizing this town a long time ago. I don't know if it's Edward or not since Danvers said that Edward was from London, not Yoka Village, but for all we know, he could've been lying. After all, you wouldn't want to associate your town with an infamous killer especially now, so why not make up a town." Ash said.

Cilan held his chin. "Yes, but then why was Edward so surprised that he knew that location?" Cilan asked. This caused the others to think. "Maybe he has a bad memory? He did seem quite a bit different after I found him in that shack. He seemed so confused earlier and then he acted like he knew almost everything, but oddly he didn't remember who the guardian was and was scared when I told him who it was. But then again, part of that was a dream… but then again Edward isn't human and… ugh my head." Ash said as he became confused. Misty sighed. "Ash, we'll think about it later. Obviously there isn't enough facts that line up to really figure out what's going on." Misty said as she and the others walked up to the door. Ash nodded and sighed. They soon exited the sanitarium. The gang sighed in relief as they smelled the fresh air. They were really glad to get out of the Sanitarium. The gang soon walked to the front gates of the hospital and turned a right onto the road they would've had been on if not for Henry. They sigh as they walked down the road. So far there didn't seem to be any enemies around, however they could still hear the faint noises of attacks. It seemed like the beasts were quieting down, but who knew when they were going to stop. Ash thought back to Edward. Just what is he? A part of him wanted him to say that the man was a part of himself, after all, he said so in the beginning of the tournament. However, another part of him refused to believe that he was anything like Edward. Ash sighed. 'Why am I so confused about this? What is Edward? And why does he constantly want to hurt people? I know he's a monster but everything about him is confusing.' Ash thought, unsure what to make of that man. Ash sighed and decided it was best to just ignore it. He would get the truth eventually. After going pasted several side roads, the gang soon found themselves at a giant hole in the road. To the right of them was a medium sized apartment complex. The gang groaned. "Great, we have to go through the apartments. Well, hopefully we won't run into any enemies. Oddly we haven't met any yet since we left the Sanitarium." Misty said, confused by this. Iris sighed. "Just be glad of that. I don't want to meet any more of those twisted monsters Eddie has created." Iris said. The others agreed. They didn't know why Edward made such hideous monsters, but it was clear that it was his fault that all of this was happening. They soon walked a bit back and found a drive way that lead to the back of the apartments. However, just as they reached the small back area, they gasped as they saw one of the shark like monsters again. It was next to a small shed and a small gap that held the garbage dumpsters.

The monster growled as it stomped around. However, they soon realized that was looking away from the group. Ash looked around and soon noticed a stair case that oddly lead to the only door he could see in the area that wasn't connected to the small shed. He soon signaled the group towards the stairs. They nodded and began walking towards the stairs. However, just as Ash stepped on the first step, it creaked and caught the monster's attention, causing it to turn towards them. "Run!" Ash said, and soon the group rushed up the stairs as the monster noticed them and roared. The gang rushed into the room and sighed as they shut the door behind them. They sighed as they relaxed as they hear the monster roaring. They didn't know why the monster wasn't trying to go up the stairs and bust down the door, but they were happy that it didn't. The gang soon looked around. It was a small hotel room with a tv, some chairs, a couch, and many dried up vases of flowers. However, the gang soon smelled the scent of gasoline. It wasn't too promenade, but it did smell bad. "Ugh, what happened to this place? What's with the smell?" Jessie asked. Ash looked around and noticed a door that had police tap covering it. "I think it's coming from over there." Ash said. The gang got closer, but by doing so, the smell got stronger. The gang soon covered their noses. "Oh man, that's a horrible smell. Why is that the only room that is condemned?" James asked. Ash shrugged. "I don't know, but let's look around. Maybe we'll find the exit to this place and maybe find a way around that hole in the streets." Ash said. The others nodded.

The gang soon moved away from the condemned door and looked around. However, so far that door was out of this place was in the main room. The gang quickly noticed a small hallway that was to the right of the door they had entered and decided to go down. There wasn't much there other than a door. Ash and the others went in, however, before anyone could react, everything went purple. _"Eric, what's this?"_ Delia's voice asked in anger, her voice coming from outside the room just like it was back in the sanitarium, _"I told you not to read this book to him!"_ Ash held himself as he became uncomfortable. He hated this feeling. _"Hey! These stories are a proud heritage of the Ketchum line! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT IT!? Besides, if Ash is ever going to be a good boy, he needs to learn his lessons! After all, that's why my son left you!"_ Eric's voice yelled. The gang gasped in shock. Delia growled. _"Ash is a good boy! You just need to understand that! And…and don't you DARE talk about Ash's father again! We're here to find him…to…make him realize he was wrong about Ash."_ Delia yelled and then quietly said, begin to cry. Eric growled. _"After the boy attacked us, I will never accept him until he is cleansed. But…you're right, I don't want us to talk about it anymore. Ash could hear this."_ Eric said. Delia agrees, and soon everything was back to normal. However, the gang soon saw a dead monster on the broken bed. It was one of the scorpion monsters, sliced in half. The most of the gang gagged at this. **'It's your fault. It's always your fault. If it wasn't for you, none of this would be happening.'** The voice said. Ash held his head. "NO! I… I didn't do anything! It… It was Edward! He's the monster! He's the one who caused these horrible things to happened! HE WAS THE ONE WHO MADE DAD AND GRANDPA HATE ME!" Ash told himself. He was terrified, and the others noticed this. "Ash, e-everything will be alright. We'll stop Edward." Tracy said. Ash snapped his eyes opened and became fearful. 'Wh-what's wrong with me? Why did I say that outloud?' Ash asked himself and then shocked his head. 'I… I… I need to calm down. Th-they're right. We'll stop Edward. We have to.' Ash thought as he looked at the dead monster. "Y-yeah. We're fine." Ash said. The gang smiled as they calmed down and looked at the creature. However, a question soon popped into their heads. "Yeah. But what kind of thing could've killed this creature?" Misty asked. She and the others soon remembered Pyramid Head. The gang gulped. Did that monster do this? Why? Iris sighed. "Well, whatever happened to this creature, it's not important now. We just need to get out of here." Iris said. The others nodded.

"Yeah. Although, it's strange that we ended up in the apartment we read about." Tracy said. The others nodded. However, they had no idea why this was happening. Iris soon noticed something on the far side of the room, it was a book. She picked up. "Huh? It's a diary. It's pretty beat up though. I can only read the middle pages though. Odd." Iris said as she flipped through the book. Ash looked up. "What does it say?" Ash asked. Iris sighed as she leaned against a wall. " _January *Blank* 1984. Ash and I have finally arrived in Yoka Village and are now sharing the same apartment as Ash's grandfather. It's quiet a nice place, although I wish I had a chance to visit Eric's home town before now. I heard it was beautiful before he was forced to move here. Still, I hope we can find Ash's father. Oddly when I look or go outside, I see a fog covering the town. I asked Eric and Ash about it, but oddly they don't see it. Strange. Oh, I hope this place isn't haunted. I hate haunted places. They're so creepy. Anyways, I should stop writing now. Ash wants to play with me. January *Blank* 1984. Ash has begun acting strange lately. He keeps looking out the window in fear. Is he finally noticing the fog? I told him everything was alright, but he said he had a bad feeling about this. He told me that something bad was going to happen, but I told him that everything was okay. However, after a while, the sky darkened and we heard howls. I'm scared._ _January *Blank* 1984l I went outside to the streets to look for help after the sky returned to normal and I saw a man walking through the town, calling out for someone name Cherian. However, when I went out to try and talk to him, he didn't respond. It's like he didn't even see me. Was he a ghost? Maybe. Anyways, after he left, I went back in and asked Ash about it, but he didn't see the man. I would've asked Eric, but he wasn't around during the time. He had gone to a meeting earlier today. I'm scared though, it's been a long while since he left. I really hope this place isn't haunted. January *Blank* 1984. Oh dear, oh dear. This has not been a good day. I saw these strange monsters outside and the sky has darkened again and now…now Ash is acting like those monsters. I've locked myself and Ash in the apartment so he doesn't run off. But Ash is now roaring and clawing at stuff. What's going on with my baby boy? Oh Eric, where are you?_ On the next page, entry continues. _Oh Arceus, oh Arceus, Eric has returned. He was being chased by a large monkey like thing, but he's okay. He asked what just happened, but I have no idea. Ash soon growled and jumped towards him. I jumped in front and Ash bit my arm. Eric soon knocked him out. My arm hurts a lot but Eric was able to wrap my arm up. However, Ash is too dangerous to be around us so… so we had to lock him up in the bathroom. Hopefully everything will be back to normal. January *Blank* 1984. The fog has cleared, the sky's back to normal and Ash is no longer banging at the door. I went into the bathroom and he was sleeping like a dog. I carefully put some food next to him, but decided that I wouldn't wake him up. I don't know if he's back to normal, but Eric says he's a monster. However, all I can do is remember those calls from the school. Ash has only been in school for a couple of months before this event, but he has still gotten into a lot of trouble with some bullies after…after his father left. Oh, I hope he's okay._ And that's it. That's all the pages." Iris said. The gang looked at Ash in shock. "Wow. That's nuts. I can't believe a twerp like the twerp would do that to his own family. Of course it wasn't your fault, twerp, but still." Meowth said, scared. Ash blushed. "Y-yeah, but why did that happen? What was causing that? Was… was it Edward? Or… or was it the guardian? OR was it something else!?" Ash asked in fear.

"We don't know, Ash, but hopefully we'll find out eventually. Anyways, how are you feeling Ash?" Misty asked in concern. Ash faintly smiled. "A-a little bit better. It's just…upsetting for me to be back here. This is the event was what caused Grandpa to go crazy and… I feel like that caused Edward to enter my body. I don't know how or why but it's a hunch." Ash said. The gang sighed. "Well, there's bathroom door. Let's go there since we don't know for sure where the entrance to the rest of the hotel is." Jessie said. The others nodded. Jessie opened the door and she, James, Meowth, Cilan and Tracy gasped as a result. "What? What are you seeing?" Iris asked. Jessie turned towards them. "There's a giant hole in the bathroom." Jessie said as Meowth snuck around her. He then came back with a med kit. "And look what I foun' on the wall! It's a med kit. What's it doing here? I kinda understan' if it were behind the bathroom mirror or a closet, but it was jus' attached to the wall." Meowth said. Jessie turned to the cat and picked up the item. "Yeah, that is strange." Jessie said as she gave it to Tracy and he put it into his backpack. The gang sighed. "So what do we do now?" James asked. Ash smiled as he squizzed past Jessie and walked up to the hole. "I saw we go down. Besides, it's the only way to go." Ash said once at the hole. The gang sighed. "Okay, we'll go down. But you should go ahead Ash, since you're the only one healthy enough to battle anything down there." Tracy said, saying what was on everyone's mind. Ash smiled and soon jumped down the hole. Ash grunted as he landed on a pile of derby. He got up and checked Pikachu. He smiled seeing his buddy fine.

Ash moved away from the hole and looked up the hole. "Alright, it's safe. You can go down now." Ash said. The gang sighed and soon jumped down the hole. They soon grunt as they landed on the pile. "Ow…" Meowth, Misty, and Iris said out loud. Ash smirked as they got up. "You okay?" Ash asked. The gag looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, but man that was rough." Misty said. Iris nodded. Ash turned towards the entrance. "Well, let's get going now. The sooner we get to the area Jessie and James talked about, the sooner we'll find dad and can get out of here." Ash said with a smile. The gang smiled. It was nice seeing Ash's confidence again. The gang soon got off the pile and stood beside Ash. Ash turned around and saw that they were in the lobby of the hotel. "Hey, the exit is over there! Let's go!" Ash said, very happy. The gang smiled and exited the building. They smiled as they entered the fog town. They look to their left and saw the giant hole from earlier. "Huh. If that pit wasn't there, we wouldn't have had to make that detour. Edward must've done that instinctually to get us into that room. I don't know why he's having these monsters attack us, but it doesn't matter, he's going to pay for what he's done." Ash said. The gang nodded. "Anyways, follow us. Our hideout isn't far off." James said. The 'twerps' smiled. Finally, they were going to get some more supplies. The gang soon went on their way. They turned right and quickly saw a large theater. Torn banners and wrecked stands decorated the entertainment district of Yoka Village. Melted ice cream and hamburgers left on the blazing burners gave the area a very unpleasant smell. Several Pokémon dolls were scattered on the street, making Misty and the others think about the innocence these events had broken. Toys, pamphlets and money were lying everywhere, dropped by the owners in their haste to escape. The gang hoped they had gotten away safely. A broken rendition of Yoka Village's theme was playing on one of the loudspeakers. Once it would be obnoxious. Now it was desperate. Yoka Village theatre was unmistakable. The colossal neon sign on the building announced its business to the world. It was still impressive even without the neon working. Several posters for hopeful summer blockbusters and hilarious flops hung from the walls nearby. Misty recognize a few of the movies, a few of which she and Ash helped make. Ash however only recognized one, which was made by his movie friend he, Cilan and Iris met at the southern end of Unova. He wanted to smile about the memories, however the scene was too sad for them to think of the events.

"Oh my Arceus! This is horrible!" Jessie said in horror as they walked through the street. The gang gulped. "Yeah. Hopefully everyone got to safety before the monsters' attack. The hospital isn't that far away, so maybe." However, as the gang reached Simmons street, they stopped. "Our headquarters are that way." James said as he pointed down the street. The gang sighed. At least they knew that the hospital wasn't far off so if they had the chance, they could visit the hospital before going after Henry. The gang soon heard a malicious laughter erupt through the speaker, causing them to stop. Suddenly they noticed a large shadowy figure in the distance. Ash pulled out the shot gun and gulped. The others got out their weapons. Suddenly the 'creature' entered their sites, and to the gang's surprise, it was Edward. He was the same size as Ash. The boy was wearing the same odd butcher clothes the gang saw him in earlier, but his tail was gone and he wasn't as hairy as he was before. In fact, other than his long blonde sideburns, you could say he was back to normal. However, what made him truly terrifying was the sadistic grin on his face and his cold, lifeless eyes. Ash gulped. "E-Edward? Is… Is that you?" Ash asked. He wasn't sure what was going with the mad man. Edward stepped closer, causing the gang to step back. "Hehehe. Edward is monster. Edward is shadow. Edward can't… can't… be human…" Edward said then quickly held his head in pain. Ash held his head as well as he felt his head become numb. "No. I… I AM HUMAN! I CAN FEEL! I CAN HAVE OTHER DESIRES THAN MURDER! Just make it stop!" Edward screamed. The gang was confused and frightened by this. Edward looked at Ash. "You can make it stop! You can make it all stop! Because… because I'm the darkness you hate. If… If you accept me, he'll stop." Edward said. Ash looked at Edward and saw a dark aura around him. "N-no! You're not me! You're nothing like me! Just go away! I… I hate you!" Ash said, terrified. Edward laughed manically as his aura became larger. "I've been waiting for you to say that!" Edward yelled, "You're right! I'm nothing like you! I'm better. I don't have to be tied down to all these human companions. I'm free and I can do whatever I want. I can have fun and not be tied down to their simple rules! And nobody's going to stop ME!" Edward yelled, then let out a large roar. Suddenly the area began to shack. Misty grabbed Ash. "Let's get out of here!" Iris yelled. The others nodded and ran away from the man as he began to transform.

Edward's body was becoming bigger, his hands had become claws and spikes formed out of his elbow, and his eyes turned red. "Oh no you don't! I haven't played with you enough!" Edward yelled as he chased after them down Simmons Street. The speakers were buzzing with static as the gang heard many of the other monsters coming closer. The gang ran as fast as they could, however the area was starting to shack. Ash looked back and was shocked to see the monster Edward had become. He had razor sharp teeth that was in a malicious smile, he had a long serpent tail with a pointed end, his feet now showed claws, his hair was now pitch black, and he was as big and muscular as Pyramid Head. He was also running on all fours so it made him faster. Ash gulped and looked ahead. Team Rocket's headquarters had to be near. Ash breathed heavily as they passed another street. This was just like his nightmare of Cubone and the monster. 'He's going to get me. He's going to kill me! He won't rest until I disappear! He's… HE'S NOT ME!' Ash thought in the rush. Edward laughed as he drew in closer. Iris and Misty grunted as the strain of running started to hurt their legs. The wounds had healed up quite a bit, but this running was really putting a strain on their wounds. Ash looked at the girls and became worried. 'No. They're going to slow down soon and Edward will get them. And if that happens…' Ash thought, then imagines the monster slashing the girls into pieces. Ash soon shocked his head as Edward speed up. Misty looked back and became terrified. She soon looked at Team Rocket. "Where is this headquarters, Team Rocket? He's gaining on us!" Misty yelled in horror.

Jessie and James looked at the giant mall that they were passing by. Jessie smiled. "We're almost there! Just a little bit more!" Jessie yelled. The gang gulped. However, Edward was right on them as he grabbed Ash's hood. Ash grunted as he was forced to stop. The gang noticed this and stopped and turned around. The gang soon gasped as Edward pushed Ash to the ground and held the boy's shotgun. Edward laughed as he looked at the gun. He soon snaps it like a twig. Ash grunted as he looked up. Ash was soon horrified by this. 'Dad's gun. The only remaining thing I have of him.' Ash thought then clutched his fists. 'Gone like it was nothing! That monster! He… HE RUINS EVERYTHING CLOSE TO ME! HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE! HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! HE'S JUST AN ABOMINATION!' Ash thought, then grunted as Edward put pressure on Ash's back. Edward chuckled despite feeling the same pain. Suddenly Misty pulled up her gun. "Get off of Ash, NOW!" Misty yelled. Edward looked at her and threw away the broken shotgun. "You wouldn't shoot me, Lucy. You love me. You care about me. You wouldn't make the same mistake as HE did." Edward said. The gang except for Misty was confused by this. Misty shut her eyes. She soon saw a vision of Edward stabbing her in the back and then beating up her lifeless body. "SHUT UP! I NEVER LOVED YOU!" Misty yelled as she cried. She soon shot her gun. Edward screamed in pain as the bullet goes through his right shoulder. Ash screams in pain as he feels the effect of the bullet. Edward gets off of Ash as he holds his shoulder, however the gang could clearly see that he wasn't bleeding. Edward pants as he looked at Misty with vengeful eyes. Misty opened hers and was terrified by the look on the monster's face. "This isn't the end! I will have you all suffer for what you did to me! NO ONE DISOBEYS THE CHAMPION!" Edward screamed in rage and then disappeared into the fog. The gang sighed in relief and then rushed over to Ash. "Ash!" They all yelled. Tracy and Cilan picked Ash up. "Ash, are you alright?" Cilan asked. Ash held his head as the sirens stopped. "Y-yeah. But… dad's gun… its…" Ash said. Misty put her gun away and put a hand on Ash's left shoulder. "Ash, we're sorry about it. But… there was nothing we could do. Edward was just too fast." Misty said. Ash looked down. "But we had to go through that dreadful sanitarium to get it… and… it caused dad to be separated from us again." Ash said, feeling awful inside.

"Ash, we know. But there was nothing we can do about it. Don't worry, we'll find your father again, but for now, let's get to Team Rocket's headquarters." Cilan said. The others nodded. Iris soon looked at Misty. "By the way, why did Edward call you Lucy, Misty?" Iris asked. Ash looked at the red head. He almost forgot about that. Misty sighed as she let go of Ash. "I have no clue. But the odd thing is, I had this vision of him killing me. Maybe we have a connection that I don't know about." Misty said. Jessie smirked. "Maybe you two were old lovers in a previous life. But something bad happened between the two of you." Jessie said in a toying way. Misty blushed. "Wh-what? Of course not! Now let's go to your hide out already!" Misty yelled, not wanting to talk about it. Jessie chuckled while the others, except for Ash, sighed. Ash was just confused. Ash soon shocked his head and then looked at Pikachu, who was ashamed he couldn't do anything to help his friend. "It's okay Pikachu, e-everything's fine. A-anyways, l-let's go to that headquarters already." Ash said with his penitent smile, however Pikachu knew the boy was forcing it. Pikachu sighed. He wished Ash was more true to his feelings whenever he got sad. The gang sighed. "Okay, which way do we go?" Tracy asked. Jessie smiled as she began walking. "This way. We're almost there." She said. The gang smiled and followed her to a store with a sign swung overhead that said 'Green Lion Antiques'. The gang quickly entered the building and went down a long stairway down.

Eventually they reached another door and Jessie opened it. The gang looked around, it was a nice quiet place filled with chairs, coaches, and other kinds of antiques. "Wow, what a quaint little shop." Tracy said as they got spread out. The gang nodded. "Okay, James, Meowth, you go look for the items we were stashing and see if Ms. Rose has any medical supplies lying around." Jessie commanded. The two men nodded and soon walked off. Ash sighed as he moved to the far side of the room as the others looked around. Ash held his shoulders as he leaned on a shelf that was holding a scented tea set, trying to figure things out. 'Why does Edward hate me so much? Why did he make Pyramid Head take dad away again? What is Pyramid Head? Why… why does Eddie keep insisting that he's me? He's not. He's an insane, sadistic monster who ruins everything. And when I find him, I'll make him PAY!' Ash thought. Ash soon sighed as he tried to calm himself. Sadly, things couldn't be figured out fairly quickly, now that he had the time to think. He didn't know where Henry was at all. This was a huge town. And he couldn't search it without him or his friends being threatened by those monsters running loose. Was his father worth endangering everyone else? But he couldn't just leave him, could he? Like Henry had left… No! He couldn't think like that… shouldn't… but what was he supposed to do?! Cower in this place like a coward because he couldn't think of anywhere else to go? Where else was there? There was Markham's house, sure, but if Henry wasn't there, what then? What… where… how… "GAAAAH!" Ash slammed his fists into the shelf, jarring it from its position on the wall. Immediately something came up that made him forget about his frustration for a moment. "What's that smell?" Ash asked as he covered his nose. Meowth smelled it. "Dead Patrats, I think." Meowth guessed. Misty covered her nose. "It's disgusting!" She yelled. Cilan groaned. "I think my socks are curling around my ankles." Cilan said. Iris holds her and Axew's noses. "Move it back, Ash!" Iris yelled. 'Whoopsie.' Ash thought as he grabbed the side of the shelf, planning to cover up the smell. But then he saw something that quickly caught his attention. "Ash, what are you looking at?" Tracy asked. Ash looked past the bookshelf. "There's a tunnel back here." Ash said. Everyone's eyes widened. "A what?" Everyone except Ash yelled in shock.

Ash pushed the shelf further to the side. Sure enough, the stench was emanating from a huge hole in the wall. It was too big to be a Patrat hole or even a mistake in the planning of the room. This hole was deliberately made with the building, a tunnel grown men could walk through with relative ease. The walls were stone and the floor was a metal grating, rusty and red. "Probably leads to the sewers." Jessie said. Ash's group looked at her. "We were _in_ the sewers a few hours ago. They didn't smell like _that_." Misty said. However, this only made Iris curious. "But… then what is that stink?" Iris asked. Tracy gulped. "I don't think I wanna know." Tracy said. Ash smiled, unfazed by the smell. "Well, I wanna have a look in there." Ash said. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. "What? Ash…" Cilan said. Ash looked at them. "Well, I don't want to just twiddle my thumbs here. Besides, how long do you think it'll be before those things outside or Eddie look in the shop?" Ash said. This was the first thing resembling a lead Ash had found, and he wanted to follow it. "But that smell…" Iris said. Cilan held his chin. "It might actually be a smart idea to find a new hidin' place." Cilan said. Meowth nodded. "Better than any ideas we've got." Meowth said. Iris sunk back. "But…." Iris said, disgusted by the smell. James soon realized something. "Hold on…" James said. He began rummaging through a knapsack he was carrying. "I think I might have some old gas masks in here." James said. Ash looked into the tunnel. It led into darkness. Something told him that there was something back there. Something that may answer some questions he was stuck with. About this town. About the monsters. About Eddie. About his father. Something also told him he wouldn't like the answers. But he wanted answers. And one way or another, he would find them.


	19. Chapter 18

ch. 18

 **(Hey it's aura. Sorry this took so long. At first I thought this was going to be easy, but then I had appointments and went picnicking, then I had to add more detail to some scenes so...yeah. This took some time. I hope you like it though.)**

As the gang walked through the iron corridors of the hidden passageway, they whispered among themselves in an attempt to keep them from panicking. There was the fear that there was something lurking at the end of the tunnel that they didn't want to hear their approach. But absolute silence would've been even worse. And so they tensely conversed in quiet tones. "'We cordially invite you to our fair city of Yoka Village to participate in our annual competition where you will face off against trainers of your skill level.' And now look where we are," Misty muttered angrily. This confused Ash. "My letter never said anything like that. It said the competition would 'prove my worthiness'. I wonder why mine is so different," Ash said. Misty smiled. "Well, since yours was a trap Tobias made to awaken the guardian, I bet they made yours more egotistical to boast your ego. I'm just glad Tobias realized his mistake before he became a true bad guy," Misty said. Ash nodded. "Just a shame, we've never got to enjoy their special restaurants. There was one that I was really hoping we could had gone to. It was a four star restaurant with all the works and was said to be one of the town's finest resturants," James grumbled. The gang nodded, however Jessie was miffed by her partner. "Don't tell me you're hungry. I don't think I can eat anything now..." Jessie said, then grumbled, "I'm so hungry." Iris glared at Jessie from under her gasmask, which everyone but meowth, Axew and Pikachu were wearing. "How can you think of food at a time like this?" Iris asked. Jessie growled. "Well, we gotta think of food sometime... we'll be hungry when we get out of this place, right?" Jessie said. Ash was confused by this statement as he turned his head towards the evil team. "This place?" Ash questioned from the front of the party, "Do you mean Yoka Village or this shop?" Meowth shrugged. "Either's good fer me," Meowth said. He had to hold his paws to his face. For not having a nose, he could still smell. "We've still got some hamburgers, some hotdogs, and water from the amusement park. You could have that." Tracy said. Team Rocket smiled. "You… You really mean that? I know you guys kind of gave us some while at the Sanitarium, but I thought you only did that was because that place didn't have any food." James asked. The gang nodded. The evil team became super happy. "Yay! We're finally going to get some more food!" Jessie yelled. James and Meowth nodded. "Of course, away from this ugly place. It will ruin our appetent." James said. The others agree.

Ash chuckled gingerly. Now that Team Rocket was in tow, things strangely seemed a little more comfortable. Part of it was strength in numbers. Another part... well, it was like their presence reassured him that this place hadn't been totally destroyed, even if he still hated their guts for getting him captured by Pyramid Head. If those three could've survived this town going to hell, then others could. Like Henry. And surprisingly it was refreshing to be thinking and arguing about petty things like food. It made him feel less angry at them. "How far in are we?" Tracy meekly asked. Ash looked back and then forward. "Pretty far... this tunnel sure goes on for a while." Ash said. Misty tilted her head. "How long is a while?" She asked. Ash soon saw something. "Hold on... I think I see the end." Ash said. Sure enough, Tracy's flashlight beams hit a red wall in the distance. The group kept walking and noticed that the walls of the tunnel were falling away... they were entering a larger room. The floor squished under their footsteps and dripping sounds echoed in the darkness. The flashlights of the group showed a table... no, an improvised hospital gurney with a ragged shawl draped over it. There was red everywhere. The walls were ragged and burnt, as if torn apart by an angry fire. Ash turned to his left and saw Pyramid Head. "GAAAAAH!" Ash shrieked, quickly brandishing the bent metal pipe he had improvised as a weapon. The boy smashed it into Pyramid Head's helmet, ripping a hole. Pyramid Head didn't react at all. It took Ash a minute to register that this Pyramid Head was smaller, immobile, and flat. Ash sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just the painting from the Historical Society Museum." Ash said. He soon groaned, removing the pipe from the wrecked portrait. "Wait... this was in the museum?" Iris asked. Ash nodded. "Yeah. But I didn't read the plaque this time. Maybe we can learn more about the monster now." Ash said. The title at the bottom of the picture read 'The Remains of Judgment.' Ash sighed. "Nope. Nothing that important." Ash said. Although he wondered if it referred to the man in the helmet or what he had done.

Ash soon noticed Team Rocket was staring at it. "He's the one who tried to kill me and Perlis. The maniac from the butcher's shop. The one who... kidnapped... my father." Ash said as the pieces came together. Team rocket was weirded out by this. "That's him?" Team Rocket said in shock. Misty nodded. "Yup," Misty confirmed. Tracy sighed. "Why on earth would anyone paint this guy?" Tracy asked as he backed away from the picture and felt something behind him. The boy turned around and flashed his light into it. It was a large metal cage, similar to what poachers and Team Rocket use for the big Pokémon. It was to the right of the painting. What was it doing here? It was covered in something red. Tracy recognized it from the bodies they saw on the streets. Blood. Iris turned around and found herself face-to-face with a very dead man. "EEEEEEAAAAAAGH!" She screamed. Everyone turned their lights to what Iris was staring at and gasped. The corpse was being suspended in the air by barbed wire, which was still dripping blood even though the man had stopped bleeding long ago. The flesh had been burned away, the man's clothes were all but destroyed, and the man's gut had been ripped apart and hung by the wire. The bladed wire was around his fists, neck and legs, and his mouth was hanging open in a scream. The eye twitched and fell to the floor with a spurt. An inquisitive Patrat peeked out of the corpse's eyehole and chattered at the wide-eyed intruders. The rat scuttled out of the skull and ran into the shadows. This was no painting. "I just lost my appetite." James airily mumbled. Jessie had to remove her gas mask to retch in a convenient hole in the floor. Iris and Cilan joined her. Ash's flashlight roved around further and to his horror, there wasn't only one corpse in the room. There were seven. All of them were tied up and suspended by a web of barbed wire, strung around the room like hang-up skeletons in a cheap Halloween funhouse. Ash was horrified by this. Ash felt his heart aching in pain. "My Arceus..." Ash said in horror. He thought he would see the last of this when they got out of the Sanitarium. "I gotta go..." James and Meowth said. Both turned from the grisly scene and started running back down the tunnel. "Don't go too far, we gotta stay together!" Tracy called back. Cilan just stared numbly at the carnage, clutching Iris like a reassuring doll. He knew she needed this as much as he did.

Jessie turned to Ash. "This was your idea to come back here, are you satisfied?" She asked. Ash nodded. "Yeah... yeah, let's..." Ash stopped. His flashlight had fallen on another painting, this one in the center of the opposite wall. It was a woman holding a child. The woman had long blue hair and a halo above her head. The eyes seemed... familiar to Ash. As if he had seen her before... "Ash?" Misty tapped him on the shoulder. "Ash, are you..." Ash turned around to face Misty. "I'm alright. Let's get out of here, there's nothing..." Ash trailed off, staring at something behind his friend. Something that hadn't been there when he last looked. "Ash?" Misty asked. Ash nudges Misty to turn around. When the girl looked, there was something on the hospital gurney. It looked like a sleeping child, but it wasn't moving at all. It was covered with a thick shroud, decorated with strange designs. On top of the shroud was a strange device that Jessie had seen before. "What the...? Why is the Flouros here?" Jessie asked. Suddenly they realized the room was lit by candles, flickering like spirits trying to light the way home. The wide-eyed group looked around the room, which had somehow radically changed in a minute. The corpses and barbed wire were gone, and the room was clean. The walls were intact, and there was no blood at all. However, the odd purple coloring from Ash's 'flashbacks' were back. However, they had no idea what was going on. "What's going on? What's happening? Is this another of your flashbacks, Ash?" Misty wondered. Ash looked at her with confusion on his face. "I don't know..." Ash said.

"Someone's coming!" Iris yelled. The group whirled around and saw several hooded figures walking slowly into the room. Their faces were hidden and their hands were folded in a silent prayer. Iris hid behind Cilan, praying that they were friendly. Tracy gulped and approached the first one. "Um, excuse me, can you tell us what's..." Tracy said. The man walked right through the boy. The group blinked at the ghosts that were walking through them and began surrounding the hospital gurney. The leader began speaking, in a voice that seemed distant. _"My brothers and sister, the time is closing in for God to be reborn and the Empress to walk again. However in order for these events to unfold we need to fully reawaken Xuchilbara. His true form has been seen in the Butcher's shop not that long ago, killing one of our subordinates, however he has not answered our prayers, so the only logical reason he's acting like this is because he's acting on the beast's instinct to kill and destroy. He does not know fully of what he can do nor will he help us in this state, so we have to make him remember who he is. But we have waited long enough, the mind of Xuchilbara has been marked. All that's left to do is reawaken his soul and body."_ The man said. The gang blinked. "What?" Jessie said. She turned to Ash and the others, a bewildered and slightly insulted look on her face. "What is going on? Why are they ignoring us?" Jessie asked. Ash smirked as he recognized what was going on. "They're not ignoring us..." Ash mused, "They're not there. It's like I hit a time flower." Jessie was confused by this. "A what?" Jessie asked. The group of ghosts soon shifted into a large circle around the gurney. _"It has been long since the last cycle of rebirth for the Empress. Her and Xuchilbara's souls have been twisted to believe that those monsters are meant for this world. But once we make Xuchilbara realize how wrong he was, he will be able to convince the empress to bring order to this world once again. Our god will be reborn this time and paradise will finally return to this land and destroy all the monsters that infest it."_ The group paused as the man said this. Ash coughed. "Anyways, this happened while I was in Cameron. There were these 'time flowers' which would create realistic visions of past events. However... I don't see any flowers for me to accidentally activate, so I'm entirely sure how we're seeing this." Ash said, confused at the end. Iris shrugged. "Maybe they're just ghosts." Iris said. Cilan sighed. "Ghosts. Great… Just when this town couldn't get any stranger." Cilan muttered. He was not a big fan of the supernatural.

Suddenly one of the robes pulled out a very scared Pichu from under their robes and put it on the altar. The tiny mouse looked around in fright as a bowl was placed beside it. The leader spoke again, stroking the Pokémon's head as if trying to reassure it. _"Your innocent sacrifice shall begin his rebirth. When he hears the hounds howl, that's when he's soul is ours and we can put his full power back into him!"_ The man said. Ash blinked as he remembered the howls of wolves at his door at the Pokémon center. "Sacrifice?" Iris blinked. Jessie gave them a confused look. "Look, I have no idea what's going on. They said that they had a 'monster's mind' in the Flouros, something called a Yveltal, and that's it. Maybe that's the Pokémon version of Xuchilbara." Jessie said, trying to figure out what was going on. Something was defiantly wrong here... The leader abruptly whipped out an ornate knife. Before the Pichu could scream, run or attack, the leader had killed it with a single swipe. Blood splattered into the bowl like a waterfall as the Pokémon gurgled. In another time, a very horrified group of children shook their heads in disbelief. "Oh... My... ARCEUS...!" The group yelled, pausing in horror as they saw what was happening. The item that was on the boy soon floated up. It was a small pyramid, one that was divided into 4 pieces, but was held together as one. It flickered with an inner light and the four pieces began to dislocate themselves from the main piece and began to spin around. The cultists began to chant. The group couldn't identify the language, and they felt they didn't want to know what they were saying anyway. A few words stuck out, however. _"Executioner..." "Guardian..." "Red God..." "Xuchilbara."_ The cultists suddenly paused as a loud scream could be heard under the sheet.

The cultists began looking around in surprise. The group quickly figured out why they were surprised. The walls were suddenly deteriorating, rotting and burning at the same time. An invisible fire tore at the walls, floor and ceiling, destroying the entire room. Cilan realized that all this was happening during the cultist's ceremony, and they were being given a glimpse. But why? _"He's awakening! Be ready!"_ The leader said with excitement. The unmistakable sound of a lion's roar filled the room. A red light appeared, encompassing everything. The cult leader seemed to be expecting this as he rushed over to the gurney. He then grabbed the pyramid and practically began shoving it into the small figure's chest. His chants became louder, more excited, more determined. _"Rise, Xuchilbara, our guardian!"_ The red light flowed into the figure on the gurney. Whatever happened, it made the room quake and forced the cultists to the floor. A blinding light emanated from the gurney, forcing Ash, Iris, Misty, Jessie, Cilan, Tracy, and Pikachu to cover their eyes. The 'monster' shrieked, it's voice now angrier than ever and sounding like a dragon's. When Ash opened his eyes again, the figure on the gurney was now standing on the gurney. He quickly nudged the others to uncover their eyes and look at this new development. The shroud had fallen off, and the group could see the figure was a child who had long black hair, wore a robe similar to Edward and Pyramid Head, his feet were bare and looked like claws, and his face was hidden by a white mascaraed mask. The cultists seemed to be gazing upon the figure reverently. The figure moved slowly, as if he hadn't moved for a long time and was trying to get used to the idea again. The child moved his hands in the air, as if testing his fingers. Slowly his hands came up to his face. When they touched the mask, the child twitched unnaturally, they suddenly clenched the fabric like vice grips. The mask was swiftly ripped off the figure's face. The children gasped. That was a face they knew very well. It was Ash's face, however his eyes were colored ruby red and had no light. They were silted like a lizard's eyes and made the children and the ghosts shiver. Ash felt his heart raced and touched his chest. He soon felt the scar he had forgotten about. The ghost boy soon breathed in. _"FREE~!"_ The child said, then began chuckling. This scared everyone even more. The ghosts recompose themselves.

" _Xuchilbara, guardian of this town, executioner of the sinful and protector of the empress, Alessa, mother and daughter of god. Your power is needed."_ The head ghost said. The creature tilted it's head. _"My power?"_ It asked, it's voice was identical to Ash's, which it made the group shiver even more. The group of ghosts nodded. _"Yes. Your power. Your power to create god's paradise on a whim without the help of Alessa or God. The power to find her and make her give birth to god. Not to mention your amazing strength, agility, and sensory abilities that make you the greatest hunter in the whole world! We NEED you're power to find Alessa!"_ The person said as if he was reminding the Ash look alike what these powers were. The ghost boy glanced at the dead Pichu and was horrified. He held his head. He then coldly stared at the man, anger in his eyes. _"You want my power?"_ The boy asked. A hideous noise suddenly came from all around. _"WELL, THEN HERE IT IS!"_ The boy roared. Before anyone could react, barbed wire erupted out of the walls at once. The bladed wire swiftly whipped around the cultists like snakes, carrying them above the floor screaming. The group of Pokémon Trainers cowered and screamed in horror, forgetting for a second that this was only a replay of what had happened in the past. Iris quickly covered Axew's eyes, begging him not to look at the carnage. Ash kept watching himself… no, this was not him. This was the same night as the butcher's incident so it couldn't be him. He was still in bed, listening to the song Satoshi and the guardian were singing. But then… who is Xuchilbara? However, before Ash could pounder this anymore, the boy simply hopped off the gurney and stared up at the terrified cultists with a malicious smile. Then he turned his attention to the leader, who was still on the floor staring at him in horror. The boy soon growled.

" _All I wanted was to take part of the tournament! But NO~! You guys just HAD to come in and mess with my mind! Now a part of me is running lose as Pyramid Head and Perlis has this STUPID collar around my neck! I was barely able to escape the first time and it was only through dumb luck! But… that doesn't matter now… I have my powers back, and it's all thanks to my emp… no... I'm not going call her than, instead I will just call her Alessa. She doesn't control me nor do I have to be her servant. Besides, she fine so I don't have to worry about it. But I do have a question. Why? Why can't you just LEAVE US ALONE!?"_ The boy snarled as the gang realized he wore the same collar Edward had been wearing for the past few days. Above the gang, the cultists were being stabbed, slashed and torn apart by thrashing barbed wire. The blood began to rain on the room's floor. Ash had no doubt that this monster was Eddie. Something about him just screamed that monster. Yet… why did he look like Ash? All Ash knew was that Eddie was using an incredibly powerful telekinetic ability to do all of this. The red splattered all over Eddie's clothes, but he didn't seem to notice. He instead kept growling at the cowering lead. Eddie turned to look at the slain Pichu. His expression became disgusted, and he touched the dagger gingerly. A thread of barbed wire wrapped itself around the leader's legs and arms. _"I'm sorry my lord. I'm sorry. But this world needs to be reborn. It needs God. But we couldn't find a suitable candidate on our own, we needed you and that witch. I'm sorry for causing you so much harm. Please, forgive me and give mercy to me."_ The leader begged as best as he could. The boy frowned as a barbed wired wrapped around the cult leader's throat. _"Stupid human. Have you forgotten? I don't give mercy. You have to prove it to me that you accepted your sins then you can live. Hahahah… But obviously that won't happen for you. So… bye-bye."_ The boy cruelly said. The leader screamed just as the wire around his throat tightened. Blood spurted out of the cut like a waterfall. Eddie didn't even bother to turn around to see the man's death. The screams abruptly stopped. The group gradually looked up to see Eddie fingering with the dagger for a moment. All the cultists were dead, suspended by the wire. A blood-splattered Eddie was calmly staring at the blade, seemingly oblivious to the horror he had wreaked on the people who supposedly 'resurrected' him. Although it was confusing since they saw Eddie before the Butcher's incident, so how could he be 'resurrected'?

Suddenly he looked at the painting of the executioner. He sighed. He soon looked up with confidence. _"No. I'm not that man anymore. I'm Edward Hyde and NO ONE will try to stop me now! I will get my revenge on Perlis and he will pay for what he did to me!_ " Edward said, then laughed. However, that didn't last long as Pyramid Head and a nurse suddenly appeared out of the darkness in front of Edward. Edward held his head. _"Monsters, why are you here? I'm gained full control over myself. I don't need you to do my dirty work for me now!"_ Edward yelled. Suddenly a deep throated chuckle could be heard, however, nobody knew where it was coming from. The gang and Edward shivered in fear. _**"You still have a long way to go, Edward before you gain 'full-control'. I'm still here and I'm not letting you get away with what you've done. You still haven't learned anything. There's still a scared child inside of you, screaming in fear. He still wants to just destroy everything that made him upset. I cannot let such a child use my power so recklessly."**_ The voice from the radio said. Edward chuckled as he lowered his hands. _"Oh come on. I'm not going to revert to that kid again. I was just scared and confused once before they returned me to my natural state. So don't worry. Also, I see that there's this nice nurse here. Never saw a monster like her before, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to leave this town and…"_ Edward began saying, but then the Pyramid Head monster picked him up by the neck. _"H-hey! Let go of me!"_ Edward screamed as he began kicking the monster. Ash soon remembered that strange dream with Pyramid Head and the stadium, and became scared as well.

Suddenly Edward's body began to glow red, causing the gang had to cover their eyes again. When the light dimmed, they uncovered them and was shocked to see Edward was gone. The voice soon chuckled as Pyramid Head flexed his arms. _**"It has been done. Now I can now destroy Perlis and make all those unfaithful servants of god parish for awakening us like this without Edward distracting me. Especially since the boy won't try to interfere this time."**_ The voice said. The creature then grunted in pain as he touched his neck. The gang soon noticed the collar that was on Eddie was now on the creature. Suddenly a veil shrouded woman appeared out of the hole. _"Xuchilbara, I'm sorry for this. While I hate Perlis as well, you can't go around killing humans. Especially since the Beast has been recombined with your soul."_ The woman said. The creature reached his hand out to the nurse. The nurse, however, soon fell to the ground like a ragdoll. Pyramid Head roared in pain and then fell down. The vision of the past stopped there, and the frightened group stared into space as the room returned to its present rusty, dark, horrific state. The corpses became skeletons again, and it was clear the room hadn't been touched for quite a few days since the incident. Misty turned to Ash with horrified eyes. "That… did you see…" She asked. Ash nodded. "Yeah, I saw it." Ash said, then growled. "It's Eddie's fault. I knew it! All of this! All of the pain we've been put through was because of him and his warped mind! He was that masked freak that one who stole Henry away! He was the one all along who made this town terrified of being here. If I had shot him when I had the chance, maybe… maybe this would've ended!" The gang became scared. "A-Ash, calm down. Y-you're going crazy because of P-pyramid Head." Cilan babbled. Ash growled at his friend and then looked away. "Whatever! That psychopath's involved in all of this, I know it!" Ash suddenly remembered something, and touched his chest. 'Those nightmares were all because of him! My hatred, my loathing for this town, it's all because of him!' He looked at the Dawn portrait. "But why does Alessa look like Dawn? Who is that voice? And where is…" Ash asked. Suddenly there was a loud sound that sounded like someone running on metal. The gang turned around as they heard James yell, "G-G-G-G-GUYS!" James and Meowth suddenly came running into the room, terrified looks on their faces. Apparently what they just saw was scarier than the room full of corpses. "We got a problem!" Meowth yelled.

"No kidding. We just found out that Pyramid Head guy we were working with is actually a part of Eddie and was our boss. However, now Eddie is in charge since he and the Pyramid guy fused into one creature." Jessie remarked. James and Meowth were shocked to hear this. "What? Really? Well… I gues that… Anyways, we're getting off topic! I meant that we got a big problem!" James yelled. Meowth nodded. "A new problem! A big new problem!" Meowth spouted. The gang became scared. "What?" Ash asked. James and Meowth both turned towards the paint on the wall, _The Remains of Judgment_. Meowth shakily pointed at Pyramid Head. "Da Boss. He… he's here, and when we tried to talk to him, he picked me up and threw me at James! He then said, our time is up!" Meowth said. The group gulped, they knew this wouldn't end well. "Oh no. Oh no no no. This is not good. This is not GOOD AT ALL!" Iris yelled, still covering his eyes. Thankfully, he was in her hair, so she still had a hand to use when the lights had brightened up. "This is even worse now that we know that Pyramid Head is Edward! What are we going to do?" Tracy said, horrified. Ash looked at Misty's gun. "Can't we use the gun? It worked on him last time." Ash asked. Misty smiled. "Oh yeah! Alright, let's check…oh no." Misty said as she checked the gun. However, she soon found it was empty. She soon took her bag off and searched for ammo. Her face quickly became pale. "W-we're out of ammo!" Misty yelled in horror.

"What?!" They all yelled. Misty looked at them. "Yeah! We're out! I don't know how, but we're out of ammo for the gun so we can't shoot a him anymore!" Misty yelled. Cilan growled. "And there goes our escape plan! Now what are we going to do? We can't do anything!" Cilan said in frustration. Ash looked at the door. "I'm going to face him." Ash said. The gang was shocked to hear this. "What!? Ash are you nuts!? You're going to be pulverize! Pikachu's attacks can't do anything to him and we don't have enough space to use Axew's fire breath again." Iris yelled. Axew agreed. While the little dragon didn't know what was going on in the room, he could still hear and understand what the situation was. Ash growled. 'If they're not going to listen, why should I listen to them? If I don't do anything, that monster will find us and kill us. And then… and then it will be my fault.' Ash thought. Before anyone could talk about it anymore, Ash practically ran over James and Meowth as he bolted back down the dark tunnel. Pyramid Head, his father's kidnapper, and was now the psycho Edward, here? He had to see for himself. The boy ran down the darkened hallway, overcome with a strange mix of anger and fear. The adrenaline pushed him to the entrance of the tunnel. He saw a black rectangle framed by a faint light in the distance. James and Meowth had the presence of mind to replace the shelf that covered the tunnel. Ash seriously doubted that it would do much good. The lad ran right into the wooden shelf, stopping himself just in time with his hands. As cautiously as he could manage, Ash quickly peered through a crack in the shelf at what was behind. He saw the monster. Suddenly, two-pairs of hands grabbed him from behind and swiftly dragged him right back to the room he was once in. The boy would've protested, however, Cilan's hand covered his mouth. Once they were back in the corpse-filled room, Misty and Cilan released him. Misty, in a concerned rage based off her expression, yelled at the impulsive Ash, "Are you insane? You can't fight that monster! If he finds us here-" Ash coldly looked at his friends. There was no emotion on his face. "He knows we're here." Ash simply replied. The group became scared. "...what?" Iris squeaked. Ash sighed. "He was behind... in front of the shelf. Just standing there, waiting." Ash numbly explained. His head sunk as he relayed the news.

The group fell silent. The news, and the implication it presented, paralyzed them. Their only exit was blocked by a powerful killer. They were trapped. Jessie grabbed Ash by the collar and brought him up to her furious face, which knocks Pikachu off Ash's shoulders. "THIS WAS YOUR IDEA! YOU MADE US GO BACK HERE, AND NOW WE'RE STUCK IN THIS HELLHOLE! YOU LITTLE..." Jessie slammed her palm into Ash's face. The boy didn't do a thing to stop her. He was too ashamed to retaliate. Jessie snarled again, and was about to hit the boy again when James stopped her. "Hold on Jess, this isn't the time for a fight. We gotta figure out how to get out of here!" James said. Jessie growled at James for a moment, and then saw his point. Her hand went down reluctantly. Everyone bowed their heads in desperate thought. What to do? How to do it? They needed to get out, but with Pyramid Head in the way, they couldn't just walk out the way they came in. Could they? Especially since they were out of bullets. The group steadily grew more worried as every worthless suggestion was shot down. "Couldn't we use our Pokémon?" James asked. Ash sighed. "All we got is Pikachu, Axew, and Meowth. And we can't use our Pokeballs. So that's out of the question." Ash said, then glares at team Rocket, "Speaking of which. I want my pokeballs back! Do you hear me?" Ash snarled. Team Rocket became scared and quickly gave back his Pokeballs. Ash smiled. Team Rocket sighed. "But does Meowth really count? He hardly attacks, and his attacks never seem to do much damage." Iris asked.

"HEY! My Fury Swipes are a great attack! I can attack just fine!" Meowth yelled. Pikachu simply rolled his eyes at this. Jessie growled. "Meowth, not now!" Jessie yelled. Cilan sighed. "Doesn't matter. That killer doesn't slow down because of Pokémon attacks. Remember at the butcher's shop. We tried all kinds of attacks, but he didn't seem to notice them." Cilan said, very sad. James gulped. "Is he really that strong?" James asked. He and his group never knew that detail about their former 'boss'. Ash looked away. "You have no idea." Ash said. Meowth smirked. "Hey, how 'bout this? We wait until he has to use the bathroom or somethin', and then just sneak out. He's still Edward inside." Meowth said. Iris sighed. "He doesn't strike me as the type who needs to use the washroom. Even as Edward," Iris said. Jessie smirked as she came with an idea. "We outnumber that creep seven to one, we can just rush him." Jessie said. James nodded. "Yeah. We probably could..." James agreed. Misty and the others glared at the evil team. "You're kidding. He'd cut us all in two with a swipe of that knife." Misty protested. Team Rocket looked at the gang in confusion. "Have you seen that knife?" James asked, confused. Misty shivers. "Yeah. I never wanna see it again." Misty said as she held herself. Cilan sighed. "Well... The only thing I can think of is have someone distract him and the rest of us sneak out." Cilan said. Iris laughed at this. "Great idea! Now all we need is someone to volunteer to go get himself killed." Iris said with sarcasm. James glanced at the place where Ash was sitting just a second ago. "I think someone just did." James states.

...

Ash had had enough of the bickering and fruitless ideas. The boy stormed back down the metal hallway, clutching his metal pipe and running as fast as he could to create the momentum he needed. He focused on the black rectangle at the end of the hall with a fierce conviction. He was the one who got them all stuck in here. He had to be the one to do this. He had to do this... for his father as well as all his friends. The back of the shelf came closer and closer in his view. The boy charged like a Rhyhorn towards the shadow and what was behind it, his eyes bloodshot with rage and determination. He ran faster, and rectangle came closer. Pyramid Head was behind there; Ash could almost see him. He wasn't going to run away again. Soon, he was close enough. With a yell of fury, Ash leaped up and forward. The boy slammed his side into the top of the black rectangle with a loud BANG! Landing on his feet, Ash looked up and saw the shelf leaning away from him, falling over onto whatever was on the other side. Ash pumped his fist in celebration. 'Alright! I did it!' Ash thought in pride. However, it was premature. The shelf landed on something and split in half. Ash saw the all-too familiar helmet of Pyramid Head splinter the wood on contact. The self, now in two pieces, fell to Pyramid Head's sides. Both half hit the ground with a weak thud. The murderer was still standing, not affected in the least by the falling shelf. The metal helmet looked down at Ash, apparently unamused.

Stuck for what to do next, for a minute the boy just stared up at the monolithic murderer. Neither of them moved for a moment. Ash had forgotten how tall Pyramid Head actually was. Despite his hatred and fear of Pyramid Head, Ash had to admit he was in awe of the powerful figure. He was even a bit jealous because he himself was still so short and weak that he envied the bigger man. Strong muscles, bloodstained robe, angular helmet, colossal knife... nothing Ash had ever seen been so imposing, and he had seen a lot of things. Maybe it was just because Ash knew what this butcher was capable of doing. Killing someone with a single swipe of that knife, leaping onto a moving car and forcing it to crash, kidnapping Henry and... The thought of his father made Ash snap out of his stunned trance. With a scream of rage, disregarding all common sense, Ash charged at Pyramid Head, swiping at him with his metal pipe. The 'weapon' hit the huge man in the chest, but it didn't seem to affect him in the least. Ash nearly though he was just hitting a statue, but the helmet slightly shifted, moving from side to side. Ash could hear a soft laugh, and that just made him angrier. This monster had nearly killed him and his friends, he then made those horrible monsters and then kidnapped his long-lost father, forcing them to go back to this nightmare of a town... not to mention stole Ash's hat. A furious Pokémon trainer drew his metal pipe back and hit Pyramid Head in the chest again. He instantly regretted it. In the blink of an eye, the butcher's bloody hand had grabbed Ash by the wrist. The fingers closed firmly around the hapless boy's hand, preventing him from letting go of the pipe. Ash gasped in panic as Pyramid Head held him in a vice grip, refusing to release the boy or the pipe from his grasp. Ash would've guessed Pyramid Head would slice him in half with his knife, skewer him with the spear, or just crush his hand like a vice. But the butcher didn't even lift him off the ground. Instead, he just stood there, clutching the boy's hand and pipe firmly but not enough to crush. It was like he was waiting for something. But what and why? He was Edward Hyde. He hated the boy and not that long ago was trying to crush him with his might boots. What was he waiting for?

"ASH?!" Misty yelled. Ash whirled around to see the rest of the group, staring in horror at Pyramid Head. They had been running towards the entrance to help their friend, but the sight of Ash in the butcher's clutches had stopped them in their tracks. For all they knew, this was a hostage situation... they were terrified that getting any closer would result in Ash getting hurt, or worse. They didn't know what to do, and neither did Ash. Nobody moved. Well, almost nobody. Rather than be paralyze by this, Pikachu was enraged and sprung it into action. It couldn't fire a thunderbolt without harming Ash, so it came up with a different idea. Before anyone could stop him, the Pokémon roared and started running towards it's master and the murderer holding him. The mouse's tail began to glow with a powerful energy before becoming iron... Iron tail. Ash saw his friend's rapid approach and felt hope... but then he felt Pyramid Head forcing his arm back. The huge figure shifted the hand with the metal pipe to a very specific position. Pikachu came closer and closer, a righteous rage in its eyes. The group watched with worried eyes. Ash gulped. Pyramid head waited. With a yell of fury, Pikachu leapt towards it's master's tormentor. "PIIII-KAAAAAA!" It was in the process of whirling around so that the Iron Tail would hit Pyramid Head right in the chest... when it was suddenly smacked aside with a metal pipe. Pikachu never saw it coming. The poor mouse tumbled to the tunnel floor with a surprised whimper, a painful bruise on its side. The group all gasped.

"NO!" Ash yelled aloud. Then he registered something. Pyramid Head had twisted his arm hard, almost snapping it off. But it wasn't an attempt to break it... it had been to move Ash's arm and hand in a specific direction, fast. And then the boy realized that he was still holding the metal pipe. In the hand that Pyramid Head was clutching. The metal pipe that hit his friend. Ash's face warped into a terrifying visage of absolute rage as it dawned on him what had happened. In a show of utmost cruelty, Pyramid Head hadn't just hurt Pikachu... he had forced Ash to hurt his best friend himself. "You... Monster..." Ash snarled in absolute fury. Without thinking, Ash grabbed one of the thicker splinters from the broken shelf with his free hand. The one he picked had a very sharp point. Perfect. In the blink of an eye, Ash whirled about and drove the splinter right into Pyramid Head's arm. The point pieced the murderer's hide like a dagger, forcing Pyramid Head to release Ash. The huge butcher groaned in annoyance as it tore out the splinter, however there was no blood coming out of the deep hole. Ash gasped as felt the same pain in his arm, but ignored it. The boy swiftly dropped the pipe that had hurt his friend, and with a roar of unbridled rage he grabbed another sharp-pointed splinter and drew it back, ready to impale Pyramid Head in the chest. Unfortunately, a kick from the huge helmeted man made Ash fly back into his friends in the tunnel. Misty and Tracy got him back up to his feet in a second, but Ash brushed them off, still glaring ferociously at Pyramid Head. No words could describe the hatred Ash felt right then and there. This... _monster_ wasn't content with taking away the person he had searched for so long. It had to hurt his best friend, using him as a puppet! This butcher was worse than any enemy Ash had ever faced - brutal, cruel, sadistic, murderous _freak_! He... he... Ash's train of thought was stopped by a skull-headed child's random appearance over Pyramid Head's shoulder. The sight of the tiny creature clutching the huge killer's back was so ridiculous Ash nearly laughed. Suddenly, the creature screamed and drove its knife into Pyramid Head's shoulder. The huge man and Ash winced in pain. The man soon knocked the tiny thing away. Another knife-wielding creature replaced it. And another. The group blinked. Suddenly Pyramid Head was crawling with those things, their knives randomly stabbing his flesh. The man in the helmet was too dignified to dance around swatting them away, but as the legion ganged up on him he became more agitated, forcing them off with his bare hands.

Ash could feel the knife stabs, but he ignored them. He couldn't think about it now. Suddenly the shop window was smashed, and two of the cat monsters with sickles in their heads pounced onto Pyramid Head. One of them was sliced in half with an incredibly fast action of the knife, falling onto the floor in two bloodless pieces. The other cat-creature latched onto the butcher's huge arm, fangs digging into the murderer's muscle. Ash could feel teeth puckering his arm as well. Pyramid Head threw it aside with ease, but it got back up and retaliated. James suddenly had a brainstorm. "He's distracted, let's go!" Nobody argued. It was anything but the best situation for escape. The small knife wielding creatures were scampering all over the floor, pricking their daggers at whatever came within reach. The cats leaping through the broken window made things even more dangerous. And at the center of it all was Pyramid Head, trying to beat off his attackers and swinging his huge knife around. But the group was desperate to get out of the antique store they were willing to risk it. Cilan took the lead, running through what looked like the clearest path. Misty and Iris both grabbed Ash to prevent him from trying to attack Pyramid Head again. Ash swiftly picked up a moaning Pikachu from the floor. Jessie, James, Meowth, and Tracy brought up the rear, running as quickly as they could. It was not smooth going. Everybody had to practically dance on the run to avoid the tiny monsters jabbing knives. The little creatures were wildly swinging their blades, not caring who got hurt, so the gang had to be careful.

One of the emaciated cats was thrown in their path by Pyramid Head, still alive and furious. Cilan had to grab a vase and throw it at the monster's head to keep it from pouncing on him. Suddenly James yelled "DUCK!" and everyone did, just in time to see the huge rusty knife over their heads. Another cat monster was sliced in half. There was no blood, but the group wasn't in the mood to pay attention to details like that. One of the knife-wielders got too close to Jessie, and she promptly stomped on its skull with her foot. And that was in the seconds they were still in the antique shop. Once they got outside, a terrifying sight met their eyes. An army of the knife-wielders and the cat monsters were congregating onto the store, their misshapen forms lumbering out of the fog. A few of the scythe shark creatures also appeared, as well as a new monstrosity... an eyeless, bloated pink thing with a lamprey-like mouth and a long, fleshy tongue dangling lazily down its chest. Outnumbered a dozen to one, the group decided to make a run for it. Down the street was a building that had a bright light coming from it, and it was decided that this was where the group will go. Cilan pointing the way, the group dashed down the sidewalk like deer being hunted by wolves. Some of the creatures took notice of the fleeing people. A cat monster - Ash got the ridiculous idea that this was the same one from the first time the fog had fallen - sneered and began chasing them. Jessie looked back at the horrific cat creature that was closing in on them. **SnACKTP!** The creature promptly got a nasty cut on its face. In the spur of the moment, Jessie had grabbed a piece of the barbed wire from the hidden room. She now wielded it like a whip. Not being too well experienced with whips, she could really only snap it in a direction and hope it connected with an enemy. The snarl from the angry creature told Jessie this attack had hit. Suddenly Iris screamed. Two of the pink creature's tongues had suddenly wrapped around her, and the girl was starting to get dragged to the waiting teeth. Axew and Misty acted then with Axew firing a dragon's breath at one of the disgusting things, while Misty thrusted her knife into the other one. The shrieking monsters retracted their tongues, shrieking with anger and pain. Jessie was distracted long enough for the cat creature to come even closer.

When Jessie turned around, the monster was leaping onto her with teeth and claws ready. An instinctive punch to the face disorientated the creature long enough for Jessie to grab it by the legs and throw it towards the pink monsters. The cat monster collided with the bloated creatures, angering them very much. Before the cat monster could get back onto its feet, two tongues had wrapped around it, pulling it in two different directions. The cat snarled at its fleeing prey while struggling with its hungry captors. Everyone ran faster and faster towards the building, but suddenly found their way blocked by another of the shark monsters. It was if it had leapt down from the roof. The group skidded to a halt as the huge monster readied its scythes for another attack. Fortunately, Pikachu had recovered enough by then. As soon as it saw the creature, it let out the most powerful thunderbolt it could possibly make. The creature spammed helplessly and electric burns appeared all over its body. The monster teetered unsteadily after Pikachu stopped the attack out of exhaustion. Jessie flung the 'whip' at the monster's feet, and by luck or hidden skill, the huge thing toppled with a loud crash. The group didn't waste any more time. The seven trainers bolted through the thankfully unlocked door of the building, slamming it shut behind them with a satisfying BANG. Ash and Tracy swiftly grabbed a table and a few chairs, using them to barricade the door. Jessie and James chipped in too, applying a wooden plank to the doorway with a copious amount of nails.

Once they all felt the door had been sealed enough, the group all sat down, gasping for breath and trying to calm themselves after that harrowing experience. Ash held himself as he finally acknowledged the pain he was feeling. He looked at his body, however there were no physical wounds on him. James sighed as he looked up. Several covered tables with burning candles were scattered around the large room. One of the candles had tipped over and the tablecloth was burning. He guessed that was the light the group had been drawn to. The carpet was splattered with fine food, dropped by the parishioners in their rush to get out. Though why they wanted to leave this place was beyond James. Maybe they had just panicked with the fire... it looked like it had been burning for a while. He soon realized something. "Hey... this is the restaurant!" James yelled in happiness. Everyone looked up and saw James was right. This was the restaurant James talked about base off the fact that it was one of the finest looking restaurants they had seen, even if it was in ruins. There was the unmistakable scent of good food wafting from the kitchen. Meowth licked his lips eagerly. "Now let's go forward wit' da plan!" Meowth said. Everyone looked at him oddly. Meowth blinked, bewildered by the stares. "Um... ya know. James' plan. Get some eats as soon as we got." Meowth explained. There was a moment of silence as that sunk in. Then everyone, who hadn't been anything other than tense, scared and worried for the entire day, laughed loudly. 'Yes, let' go forward with James' plan', they all thought. 'Let's eat.'

However, before that plan could be implemented, James' eyes went wide when he noticed something. "Jessie, you're bleeding!" He yelled. Jessie gasped as she looked at her hand. Sure enough, there was a deep cut in her palm, dripping blood onto her food. The barbed-wire whip must've made that cut. Cilan immediately produced bandages, but they were snatched out of his hands by James. James hurriedly wrapped the cloth around Jessie's hand, not caring how much he was using. In a second, Jessie's hand had more bandage around it than a standard broken arm, making it look like a big white boxing glove. Cilan sighed and began to carefully trim the thick wad of cloth. Misty chuckled very slightly. It was cute that James was so concerned with Jessie. While they were bad guys, Team Rocket did have their nicer sides. "Anyways, now that is over and done with, let's eat!" Iris yelled. The gang agreed.

...

Outside, the scythe monster hadn't gotten up. It was still twitching due to electricity, but otherwise it wasn't moving. Its arms were hanging upwards like an overturned turtle. It just lay there on the street, not making any sound. And the dogs came. Pyramid Head's pack of mutilated pooches circled around the lying creature. The ones that had tongues licked the fallen scythed monster, and the ones that still had chops smacked them. They all had teeth, and soon they were tearing bloodless chunks out of the creature's flesh. The skinless dog sniffed the air and detected a familiar scent. But the boy wasn't a priority right now, so there was no need to hunt down the children. At the moment. In the meantime, they feasted. Meanwhile, Pyramid Head walked out of the Green Lion Antique shop. He was bleeding badly, but he didn't care. He wasn't real. The monster soon saw his creatures fighting with each other. It was a wonderful and yet gruesome scene. Pyramid Head held his head as images of the boy appeared in his head. Anger and jealousy filled his heart. Why though? Hunting the boy was what he was meant to do. That's what the gods told him what to do. However, another part told him that he deserved to be free. That he didn't need to listen to the gods since he was a god as well. Pyramid Head sat down. Soon one of his dogs walked up to him. Pyramid Head 'hmps' and pets the hell hound. He knew this wouldn't last. There were still things the boy need to learn. Things the boy needed to know. And the restless animal inside Pyramid Head wouldn't be satisfied until he was denounced as the ultimate version of himself. Pyramid Head chuckled as he felt the boy's madness escalating. This was getting fun.

...

Ash and Iris quickly put out the flaming table before the fire spread. Jessie and James watched out the windows for any more creatures while Tracy and Cilan got one of the kitchen stoves going. The seconds were very tense, and the group expected Pyramid Head or one of the bigger monsters to come crashing into their current sanctuary at any moment. Fortunately, they didn't. Once Cilan had finished working with what he had found in the kitchen, most of the group gathered around for an impromptu lunch. Cilan, Misty, Jessie, James and Meowth sat at one of the many tables that were still around and began devouring the hot rolls and sirloin Cilan had made. Iris and Tracy had left to use the restaurant's four-star facilities. They all wanted to make the most of their temporary relief. Ash said he wasn't hungry, so he and Pikachu took Team Rocket's place at the window watching for any danger. He was actually hungry, but all he could think about was Edward and the monstrous forms he took. Ash glanced back into the restaurant and noticed the back of a Banette doll on a table further away, slumped down like someone depressed. Some kid must had left behind his toy. The boy sighed and looked back out into the thick fog. The sun was up, not that it made much difference. His hands stroke Pikachu's fur. His buddy was sleeping off that hit. He hoped the doll wasn't a real Banette. It was kind of hard to tell the difference since Banettes were created by abandon dolls. James swallowed a large piece of the delicious meat. "Mm-mmm! This is the best food I've had since… well, since I can remember!" James said. Cilan smiled slightly. "Thanks." He replied. Misty smiled and then turned towards Ash, who was still staring blankly out the window. "Ash, c'mon, have something to eat with us." Misty said. Ash sighed. "I'm not hungry." The boy replied, stroking Pikachu numbly. Misty smiled. "That's a surprise. You're usually always hungry." Misty joked. Ash frowned. "I'm not hungry." Ash coldly said again. Misty became concerned. "Ash…" Misty worryingly said. Ash gritted his teeth. "I'm **not** hungry." Ash said, more viciously that before. Misty walked up to him. She knew something was upsetting him. "What's wrong?" Misty asked. Ash looked at Pikachu and then outside. "Nothing." Ash coldly said. Misty frowned. "No, something's wrong and you know it." Misty said, getting a little fed up. Ash didn't reply. He just kept stroking Pikachu. "Ash, c'mon…" Misty tried again. Ash growled. "I'm fine." He said. Misty became confused. "What happened to the chipper, talkative, hungry kid I traveled with?" She asked. Ash clutched one of his hands. "I'm **fine**." Ash said, trying to hide the anger in his voice.

"No. You're. Not. First you nearly pulverize a shelf. Then you go down a corridor that smells of corpses and don't even blink. Then you charge a 7-foot murderer whose blade is bigger than you are with nothing but a-" Misty yelled. Ash stood up and growled. **"I'M FINE YOU STUPID BITCH, NOW SHUT UP!"** Ash bellowed with a furious expression, eyes warped into a vicious glare and teeth gritted hard. The noise woke Pikachu up. The entire group fell into a stunned silence. In the uncomfortable silence that fallowed, Ash glanced down at Pikachu, who was staring at him with wide eyes. The boy groaned and his head slumped down in shame. "I'm going nuts, aren't I?" Ash asked. He could feel it in his heart that he was becoming more and more monstrous and vicious towards everyone. The group looked at each other, looking for an answer. Eventually, James shrugged. "Yeah, kinda." James replied. Ash groaned again, feeling worse than before. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, with where we are now and what's happening…" James babbled for a moment. Suddenly Meowth walked up to Ash. "If it makes ya feel any better, you ain't the only one." Meowth remarked. Just then they heard Iris' voice. "No Tracy, don't flush! They'll hear or the sewer thing will know where we are and we'll be in real trouble so DON'T!" Iris yelled. Tracy looked at her in confusion. "Umm, okay…" Tracy replied. Meowth chuckled. "Like I said." Meowth said. Ash smiled ruefully. James promptly stood up. "I'll watch the window. You get something to eat, twerp. Alright?" James asked. Ash sighed and then smiled. "Alright." Ash said as he shrugged and swapped places with James. Ash sat down with Pikachu on his lap and scarfed several of the dinner rolls. He _was_ hungry, after all. Seeing their friend eat like his old self brought a slight smile to everyone's face. Maybe there was a little more hope that they thought. A nervous Iris and a puzzled Tracy joined the group shortly, and soon everyone had eaten something.

Taking full advantage of the respite they were having from the creature's attacks, they all rest as best as they could. There was a rotation of duty as one person took watch while the others made a wary attempt at sleeping. Ash didn't sleep a wink, thinking about his father somewhere in this town, Pyramid Head, and how he could find his father. One way or another. But… at what cost would it be? What would happen to everyone else? Was his father really worth all his friends? Could he even stop Eddie? What about the cult? Some of them should still be around unless Eddie had already killed all of them already. After a few minutes, Tracy looked at Ash. "So what's the plan?" Tracy asked. Ash gave the boy an incredulous look. "You're asking _me_ for a plan? So far, all my _plans_ have done nothing but get everybody hurt." Ash joked and then sighed, looking at Pikachu. James piped up. "Hey, you're with experts in plans gone wrong. It's not as ba…" James quickly regretted opening his mouth as Ash shot him an unamused glare. Ash then sighed and turned to Cilan. "Let's hear _you_ r plan. What should we do, Leader?" Ash asked, very frustrated. Cilan thought for a moment, then grabbed Tracy's map. "Wel… um… er… I wasn't expecting you to say I was a leader. I know I've been kind of leading the group since we entered this area, but…" Cilan said as he looked. Ash chuckled. "Well?" Ash mockingly asked. Cilan glanced at the ribbons of bandages he had cut from Jessie's hand. He had also patched up Misty's and Iris's wounds after the gang had eaten. The wounds weren't that bad, but it helped them a lot. "Um… the only thing I can… well, at the rate we're going, we're going to need more medical supplies." Cilan said. Ash frowned. "That's the only plan you can think of?" Ash asked, very annoyed. Cilan nodded. "Yeah." Cilan replied. Ash sighed. "Well, go on then." Ash said. Ash looked very unamused. Cilan was getting nervous by Ash's cold and bitter demeanor. It felt so unlike Ash. "Ok… we'll eventually have to go back to the hospital again. We're nearing the bridge to the residential area, so it would be wiser to just get Henry first and then head to the hospital. There might be some stuff we can use; supplies, ethers, bandages, medicine… even a vehicle Team Rocket can hotwire." Cilan said.

"I doubt it… While we were running for our lives, I noticed that the creatures were trashing all the cars. Everything left on the street has been destroyed." James said. Jessie blushed. "And truth be told, we're not that good at hotwiring." Jessie added. Cilan sighed as he held the map. "Whatever. We'll figure something out. And one other thing…" Cilan directed Ash to a circled area on the map. "We'll be going right through Sudowoodo Oaks residential area after we reach the hospital." Ash blinked. "Markham's house. We'll be able to look and see if…" Cilan added. Ash smiled. "My father's there," Ash breathed, his body twitched, "He's gotta be. He's gotta be in there." Iris was quiet for a second, and then she posed a question that was very unsettling, but had to be asked. "What if he… he isn't there?" She asked. Ash winced, not wanting to face that possibility. But he knew he had to. "Then… then… I don't know. I don't know… maybe we go after Edward. But first, let's go with Cilan's plan for now. Yeah." Ash said. He didn't want to really face Edward, but he felt he must. That creep ruined this town for everyone, so he had to be the hero who stopped him. Ash turned around and saw something that nearly made him jump. The doll he had seen when they entered the restaurant had moved. The toy had turned around and was looking straight at him, the immobile face mysteriously warped into an angry glare. A finger pointed at Ash accusingly. Ash gulped hard, having the distinct impression he was being threatened. He waited a moment to see if it would attack or move. But it didn't. Ash gulped in fear. Ash shocked his head. He needed his rest. "Wh-why don't we finish up resting here, then we can leave." Ash suggested. The gang nodded. Jessie yawned. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. We'll need our strength in case we need to run from Pyramid Head again." Jessie said. The others nodded and soon put away their stuff. "I'll keep watch for now. I've gotten enough rest." Cilan said as he got up and moved to the window. Ash sighed. He soon looked at Pikachu who was still asleep. "Don't worry Pikachu, e-everything's going to be okay. E-everything's going to be okay." Ash said. Pikachu smiled. Ash smiled back and soon he and the others soon fell asleep.

...

Ash breathed heavily as he laid on the ground. His body was aching in pain. 'I'm pathetic. I can't do anything. I... I... I'm a monster.' Ash thought as he soon began to cry. 'If only I was stronger. If only I could do something. But... but I can't. I'm just a weak, stupid, pathetic monster.' Ash told himself. "I...I can't do anything right. I went to see grandpa, but...but he just yelled at me. Everyone at that awful place yelled at me. I... I was just trying to find daddy, but...but..." The boy soon cried. Ash held his head. "I can't. I'll never be strong. They...they were right! I am weak! But...I-I want to be strong." He cried out. He soon heard a haunting song made out of la's. Ash opened his eyes and found himself in a bed. Ash looked around and soon noticed the purpleness had returned and he was now a small defenceless young boy. Ash sniffled. "W-who's there?" Ash asked. Suddenly a chuckle could be heard. **"Were you surprised?"** A voice asked. Ash nodded. "Y-yeah. Wh-who are you? Where are you?" Ash asked as he sat up. Suddenly red smoke formed around the boy. **"My name is Xuchilbara. I am the protector of this land. You cannot see me since I am simply a spirit in this world. I heard your wishes and am here to help you."** Xuchilbara said. Ash's eyes widen. "Xu-xuchilbara? I...I saw you at the stage. You're one of the awesome protectors of this land! You protected the goddess from the evil dragons!" Ash said, very excited. The voice chuckled. **"Yes, I saw the mock up of my fellow god and I. It was amusing to say the least."** Xuchilbara explained. Ash soon looked away. "Why are you trying to help me? I'm...I'm a monster. I attacked mom and grandpa, the kids at school pick on me, and I'm constantly getting into trouble. I... I caused Grandpa to go into that horrible hospital. I...I'M THE REASON DAD LEFT US! I... I NEVER SAW HIS FACE! I CAN'T REMEMBER HIS VOICE! I...I'm a monster." Ash said, then cried. The boy soon felt something hug him. **"But I can change all of it. I have the ability to make you not a monster. To make that monster pay for what he did. He took away everything for you and I see it as my job to give it back."** Xuchilbara said.

Ash sniffled and opened his eyes. "R-really? You can do that for me?" Ash asked. The red mist floated in front of him. **"Of course. That's what I do, that's what I live for. To help poor unfortunate creatures like yourself. Poor souls with no else to turn to. But of course, there is a price to pay. You can't get anything without a sacrifice."** The voice said. Ash's eyes became wide. "Please! PLEASE! I'll...I'll give up everything to have daddy and grandpa back! Just say what you want and you can have it!" Ash yelled, terrified of losing the guardian. The voice chuckled as Ash felt his body feel odd. **"I knew you would ask. What I want is, you're soul and body. The very being that is you. There will be no difference between you and me. You will gain everything I am, and I can leave this town to make the world 'better'. Daddy wouldn't hate the new you we will become. He will love us. He will embrace us. Wouldn't that be nice?"** Xuchilbara said, his sly voice calming Ash a bit. Ash smiled. "Yes! YES! GET RID OF THE MONSTER! GET RID OF THE EVIL! And then I...I'll have daddy. I'll be happy. Just make it stop." Ash said. Xuchilbara chuckled. **"Of course, boy. Of course."** Xuchilbara said. Ash soon was engulfed in the red mist. Ash screams in pain as everything became black.

...

Ash gasped in shock as he woke up. Ash breathed heavily as he realized he was back in the restaurant. Ash let out a sigh of relief as he realized that he had just had a bad dream. Ash groaned as he got up. However, a sudden pain ran throughout his body, causing Ash to hold his shoulders. "Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked as she and the others got out their beds. "M-my body. It...It hurts so much." Ash said as he struggled to talk. He breathed heavily as the gang helped him out of his sleeping bag. Pikachu gasp as he got out of the sleeping bag. The gang soon gasp as they looked at Ash. His body was much buffer than normal and his hand were now claws. "Wow, Ash. How did you get so buff so fast?" Jessie asked, impressed by this. Ash breathed heavily as his body was starting to ease up on the pain. Ash looked at his arms in confusion. His clothes were a bit tighter, but they didn't look like they were going to rip anytime. "I...don't know. I had this voice say some crazy talk but since I wasn't thinking straight, I made a deal with it. Suddenly I felt the pain and woke up like this." Ash said, confused. The gang sighed. "Maybe Edward caused this. He's a massive jerk, so making you look strange would make him happy." Misty said. The others nodded. Ash looked at his muscles. "But if I'm buff like this, it'll be easier for me to battle against the monsters. I doubt Edward would want me to succeed in finding dad." Ash said, confused. Jessie sighed. "Who knows. Maybe he does want you to be stronger. You can never tell with the guy." Jessie said. The others nodded. Ash sighed. 'E-Everything's fine. I'm...I'm okay and I'm stronger. E-everythings fine.' Ash told himself.

Suddenly Ash heard someone snicker. Ash looked around, but no one was laughing. Ash soon noticed the Banette doll had shifted again. This time angrier and having pins next to it. Ash soon remembered Banettes can use curse. 'Maybe it did this to me...nagh. That doesn't make senses...' Ash thought. Then he heard the laughter again. 'The Emperor isn't pleased with what he has done? Such a shame. If the emperor wasn't listening to the puny emotions that were tying him down, he could fully make things right. He doesn't need the empress. He doesn't need freinds. All he needs is to be himself. But the emperor seems scared of himself. Why? He is who he is. He can't be anyone else, no matter HOW HARD HE TRIES TO DENY IT!' A voice yelled at him. Ash held his head. 'Who's there? Why are you in my head?' Ash asked in fear. Suddenly heard the voice chuckle. Ash soon noticed the Bannett had shifted it's head to the left. 'What's wrong Emperor? Scared of your own shadow?' The voice asked. Ash soon shocked his head and then looked at the group. "Let's not stick around here too long. I think a Banette's here and it's angry at us." Ash said. They looked at the doll and nodded. The seven people crept out of the restaurant into the foggy street. The first thing they saw was the shark creature… or what was left of it. The dogs had reduced it to piles ragged flesh, scattered around the road like wrapping paper after Christmas. Bones had been ripped apart, shards rolling into the gloom. It was a very fortunate thing that the dogs - if they could even be called dogs - weren't there right now. Ash blinked to make sure he wasn't overlooking something. "Weird…" Ash said. Ash wonder where Pyramid Head and his dogs went. "Weird? Weird is a grown man planning to become a Pikachu, or a Day-Glo office building, or alphabet soup without the soup. This is not weird, this is horrific." James said.

"No, it's not that… there's no blood." Ash noted. Meowth blinked and then had the same realization. "Oh, and dat's weird? Those nurses and other monsters didn't have blood. The only ones who did were Edward/Pyramid Head." Meowth asked. Iris sighed. "No, he's right. There's no red stuff or anything close that would be considered blood. But… why?" Iris asked. Jessie sighed. "I have no idea why, but have any of you guys noticed that none of those things bleed?" Jessie asked. Misty shocked her head. "No, not really. We were too scared to tell." Misty said. Cilan held his chin as he tried to think of an answer to all of this. "But why don't they have any blood? All natural creatures have blood. It's simple biology." Cilan questioned. Jessie smirked. "Well, these creatures aren't natural." Jessie explained. Ash and the others rolled their eyes. "I could've told you that. But… when Eddie was shot, he wasn't bleeding. I know he's just a 'manifestation', but he's very closely human. Why did he bleed? Ugh. I don't get it." Ash said, very confused. Everyone looked at him. "Wow, that's even more bizarre." Jessie said. The group nodded. "I guess manifestations or whatever don't bleed." Ash said. The group agreed. "Alright, with that out of the way, can we get moving? Pleeeeease?" Iris asked. Nobody argued with Iris. The slurping noise of a faraway monster convinced them to walk down the street, towards the residential area. _Very_ quietly. The residential area, the place Ash prayed Henry was being held in. If his father wasn't there, he could be anywhere in the town and a search would be too dangerous. Iris' question kept preying on his mind. What if Henry wasn't there? If then, then where was Pyramid Head keeping him? Where ever he was, Ash would find him. He hoped.


	20. Chapter 19

ch. 19

 **(Hey, I'm back! Sorry this took so long. First I had to rewrite some parts, then I got caught up on the next chapter which distracted me from this one, and then college came up on me and I had no time. Not only that but the new Pokemon news blew me away, so it's been hard to edit this. Sadly, updates will be even slower thanks to school. I hope you're not too mad and I hope you like this chapter.)**

Eyes darting about everywhere as the large group of teenagers crept through the foggy streets. Abandoned stores and shopfronts with broken windows and tattered awnings testified to the long-gone glory of Yoka Village. The entire place seemed drained of the color and life that had been there when they first arrived, leaving nothing but a grey corpse of a town. A grey corpse that wanted badly to be a ghost. The only color that stood out was red. The group came to a sudden halt when two dog-like shadows appeared in the mist. It didn't look like the creatures had noticed them… they were too busy feasting on something on the ground. No-one made a noise. But the dogs still heard something… whatever it was, it compelled them to run into the mist. Away from the scared group, thankfully. Assuming/hoping it was safe, the group kept walking up the street. They then came across a grisly sight. A Psyduck, likely belonging to one of the fleeing trainers, had been killed in the street. Unlike the bizarre creatures, the Pokémon bled. The duck was lying in a puddle of dark red, ravaged. Misty held back tears at the poor duck's fate. It could have been easily her Psyduck. The others did their best to avert their eyes from the gruesome scene. Jessie and Iris gagged. Trying to keep a brave face, Ash pulled Misty away. "Let's keep going." He stated, plain and certain. And they did keep going, eventually leaving the shopping district behind them and going onto the bridge. However, as they walked, Ash's eyes caught the sight of the Historical building. He remembered when Edward kidnapped him and now the monster had his father. Ash growled. He was going to make Edward pay, no matter what. He feared, hated, and yet oddly loved the monster. Ash soon remembered Pyramid Head's form. He felt envious towards the monster. Eddie was somehow able to grow into this huge, muscular force that could handle anything, and yet here he was, a little boy who could hardly help anyone. Ash clutched his pipe. He felt pathetic.

Pikachu nuzzled Ash's cheek, however Ash ignored the mouse as they entered the residential district. There was one more street to pass through before the gang reached Sudowoodu Oaks. None of them caught the name of the area. The district was more open than the shopping district, with a wider road and lawns. The open space only seemed to make Yoka Village feel deader than before. Ash didn't know what was worse, the murderous creatures roaming around town or the dead silence and calm. The creatures had stopped screaming, and now there was nothing to hear but his own heartbeat. The place was calm, but everyone knew that at any time another monster could leap from the mist and kill them. They couldn't let down their guard. They'd been lucky so far. How long could luck last? The minutes dragged on and on… Ash nearly caught himself wishing something would happen. The group abruptly heard a sound behind one of the houses. In the silence, the noise of sibilant little creatures whispering and giggling could be heard very clearly from a distance. "Daddy's coming."

"Daddy's _here_."

"Do you think he'll like it?"

"Daddy will like it."

"Let's go."

"Surprise him."

Cilan shivered. He recognized those voices from the Amusement Park: those swarming creatures with the skull heads and sharp knives. This wasn't good. "G-g-g-guys…" Cilan said. But Ash already knew and was worried. **CRRASSSH!** Another monster erupted from the garage of a nearby house. The group screamed and reared back. This one looked like a six-foot tall starved insect with sickly-green armor. Two huge scythes, each as big as one of the children, had been fused to its tiny arms. A 'mouth' consisting of mangled mandibles hissed loudly as the scythes went clack-clack-clack on the pavement. The creature approached the group, it's huge blades coming closer and closer. Worse, it wasn't alone. More monsters appeared throughout the district, closing in on the frightened group. Chuckling and snarling as they anticipated a fresh kill. It looked like the group's luck had ended. Everyone's first instinct was to turn around and run. But that idea was destroyed the second they looked behind them. The cat-thing had returned, the fresh scar on its face making it look angrier than ever. It had brought its pack as well, almost a dozen other cat monsters. They all crept up to the group, hissing like demons. The group searched for an exit. The only one they saw was forward... the creatures with the scythes were still around the periphery of the streets, lurking on the yards and driveways of the houses. The street itself was more or less empty. If they hurried... Ash didn't give them time to think. "COME ON!" Ash yelled, grabbing Misty by the hand. He forced her forward, down the street. Everyone fallowed, realizing the urgency of the situation. They sped through the street, hoping they could outrun the creatures behind and beside them. The monsters hesitated for a critical moment, surprised at the human's sudden move. The leader of the cat creatures regained composure first and began chasing the group, Jessie in particular. It hadn't forgotten that incident with the barbed wire whip and the tongue monsters. With leaps and bounds, it closed in on the teenage thief. Meanwhile, the scythe monsters began swiping at the runners with their blades. It seemed like an extreme sports gauntlet, the creatures attacking the group from both sides. None of them were trying to block the way forward... Cilan figured that they were treating it like a game. Ducking and hopping, the children were able to evade most of the blades. Most of them.

One of them caught Iris squarely in the right leg. The girl shrieked in pain as the scythe dug into her skin, forcing her to the ground. Ash heard her scream and whirled around to help. He barely had time to pick her up and get her out of the way before the creature swiped at them again. If Ash had been a second slower, he would've lost his head. Jessie and James were bringing up the rear, using what acrobatics they knew to dodge the creature's desperate attacks. They were actually fairly successful, enough for a confident James to taunt "Nice try!". A slash at his arm taught him not to speak too soon. James screamed in pain as he held his arm, trying to block the bleeding. The man quickly looked back. The cat creature had closed in on them, it and its pack. They were dodging the gauntlet with expert ease. The one with the scare on its face was taking a running leap towards Jessie, claws ready to enact revenge... James didn't bother to think. He threw as powerful of a punch as he could at the creature's black face. The fist connected hard with the creature, sending it sprawling back. Jessie and James didn't bother to check if it was knocked out... another scythe nearly chopped off James' nose and convinced them to keep running. The end of the gauntlet was in sight... as well as the end of the alley. A wire fence with the sign 'Beware of Dog' was to the left, an exit at last. The group ran even faster, Ash carrying Iris on his back. They had to get out of the swiping, slashing blades fast. Iris' added weight slowed Ash down, and the blades kept coming dangerously close to both of them. That was when Pikachu and Axew decided they had rested enough. Pikachu sent a jolt of electricity at the remaining scythe monsters, and Axew used Dragon Breath to burn lawns. The attacks stopped the monsters long enough for Ash, Iris and the others to get to the wire fence. They all leap over it and duck into the alley nearby. They could hear the scythe monsters crying out in pain as they burned.

Behind the gang, the cat-creatures pack was almost catching up. The creatures ran between the burning scythe monsters, entirely focused on the fleeing children. Which was a mistake, because at least one of the scythe creatures wasn't burning and it thought the game was still going. Within a second, a cat monster was sliced in half. The front and back fell to the ground, with nary a drop of blood. The rest of the pack immediately turned their attention to the scythe monsters who weren't dead by the fire, leaping on them and tearing at their 'throats'. The skull creatures retaliated with their blades, cutting many of the pack members to ribbons. Soon they were all tearing at each other... and the children had escaped. Taking the momentary shelter in the alleyway behind the houses, the group struggled to regain their breath and bandage their wounds... they hadn't gone through the gauntlet unscathed. Thankfully it was mostly minor cuts and scrapes. Iris's wound was the worst. Cilan was running out of medical supplies, so the group improvised with Ash's spare jacket and a spare belt to bandage the wound. It was hardly a first rate job, but it at least stopped the bleeding. Iris tried to get up and failed, sprawling onto the ground. Cilan found a long stick of something and Iris was able to use it as a crutch. Misty sighed. "Why did we leave the restaurant again?" Iris asked. Cilan sighed. "How long do you think we would last in there if those things found us or what if that doll really was a Banette?" Cilan asked as he tried to explain things to her. Iris growled. "How long do you think we'll last out here?" Iris yelled. Axew was very sad. It was only a baby, so it didn't know how it could have prevented this. "Um, Ash..." Meowth said. He was staring wide-eyed at something further down in the alley. "You... uh, might wanna take a look at dis..." Meowth said. Ash turned around to look at it, as did everyone else. What they saw made them heave a collective gasp. Lying on the brick wall down the alley was the dead body of a woman. She had countless gashes on her broken body, just like the man from the amusement park. Her t-shirt and skirt were full of bloody holes, red ruining the original color of her outfit. But the corpse itself wasn't the most disturbing part of the scene. Someone or something had used the woman's blood to create a childish 'drawing' on the wall beside her. A boy with a big smile. The jacket, pants, and z-like marks on the face displayed the subject to be Ash. Below the 'drawing' was a series of scribbles made out of more blood. The dripping had obscured most of the message, but if one looked at it right, the word 'DAddY' could be seen. None of the group could take their eyes off the grotesque scene.

"Wow..." James breathed, "They really went to a lot of trouble to capture your likeness..." Ash nodded numbly. He knew what did this, the skull children from the amusement park. The ones he had heard whispering when they arrived in this area. Was this the surprise they were talking about? This bloody drawing of him? And 'Daddy'? They were all shrieking 'Daddy' at the amusement park... did those things think he was their father? He had rationalized back then that they mistook him for Edward somehow, but... could he had been mistaken? That was ridiculous... there was no way in all the world those... _murderers_ could be his 'sons' in any sense. They had to be Edward's. He was not their... Father. 'Henry.' Ash suddenly remembered. Ash growled as he remembered what Edward did to him. Iris turned to Cilan, a less than pleased expression on her face. "LOOK at this! With those monsters running around town, we won't survive another hour in the streets!" Iris yelled. Cilan tried to placate her. "Keep calm, Iris. That's the best thing we can..." Cilan said. Iris snarls at Cilan. "CALM? My leg is slashed, AGAIN, I can still hear the creatures that cut it, there's probably more out there, Axew has been scarred for life, we're expected to stay in the streets and you want me to be CALM? It was YOUR idea to go back out when we were safe in that restaurant! We should've just stayed there in the first place! I don't care if there might have been a few Banettes in there! It's still better than those MONSTERS!" Iris yelled. James gave her an incredulous look. "You want to go back?" James asked. Iris heard the fight between the cat and scythe bug creatures behind them, and quickly changed the subject. "And just whose brilliant idea was to go back into this insane town in the first place, huh?" Iris coldly asked.

"HEY!" Misty retorted, "I never heard _you_ having any bright ideas! Don't pin this all on Ash!" Tracy sighed and soon looked around. "Hey..." Tracy remarked, "Where is Ash?" The group looked up and noticed that in the middle of their argument, Ash had left the group. Cilan groaned, "Not again..." Fortunately Ash was back in a second, a slightly pleased look on his face. "Good news, guys. Sudowoodo Oaks is just through this alley. I looked... there wasn't any creatures in the streets. Whole place is deserted." Ash said. Everybody but Iris was shocked to hear this. "Just like this place was?" Iris muttered before being elbowed by James. He pointed to both Iris' leg and his own arm, which he had wrapped a sheet around quickly. "Quiet. Once we get Henry, we gotta get to the hospital," James said. 'And make Edward pay for all of this,' Ash reminded himself. Henry had better be there. As Ash had assured them, the district was deserted. Not a monster in sight... just grey buildings that tried their hardest to stand out from the oppressive mist. The entire area was nondescript... in the daylight, it would've been considered homey, traditional, and conservative. Now... it just looked like shadows in the midst of shadows, the ghost of peaceful times past. There was no wind. The air stood still, as if it had died itself. The oppressive quiet crawled through the children's bones, making them even more unsettled than before. No matter how quiet it seemed, the group didn't move any less cautiously than before. They crept through the streets, eyes and ears wide open. With their collective wounds, the children could only move very slowly, and they felt they wouldn't stand a chance if another attack happened. But all they could do was move forward and pray for safety. For several minutes, nothing happened. It was as uneventful as a regular stroll through a quiet neighborhood, although not even remotely as enjoyable. Then Misty spotted something important. "Ash, there it is!" Misty yelled, breaking the silence. It was unmistakable. The burned-out husk of Markham's house stood out like a sore thumb in the deadened neighborhood. The place was still standing, barely. Several of the walls and supports had crumbled into ash and there was a giant hole in the ceiling. The entire house looked as if it had been murdered. It was a wretched, twisted place devoid of all life. Ash gulped hard. This had to be it! "Dad's in there... H-he's gotta be!" Ash yelled, feeling fear in his heart. He'd better be... if he wasn't, he could be anywhere, and they couldn't look 'anywhere' the way things were. It was too dangerous, especially for his friends... But he had to find his father. Ash sighed as he calmed himself. Now wasn't the time to let his emotions take over again. He looked at his friends.

"Well, let's get going now." Ash said, motioning them to fallow him. James sighed. "Ash, I'm sorry but Iris and I are too injured to search." James explained. Ash nervously smiled. "O-okay, so who's going to fallow me?" Ash said, nervous. Misty stepped forward. "I will. I can't let you go in alone when a monster attack. Tracy, Cilan and Jessie, you help the others recover." Misty said. The others nodded. Ash sighed as he calmed himself. "Alright, but if we don't come out in five minutes, you guys need to press on to the hospital. James and Iris can't handle this anymore." Ash ordered. Cilan and the others were quite surprised at this instruction from Ash, but the boy wasn't willing to let his search for his father put the others in more jeopardy than it already had. Ash soon turned to the giant house and became focused. His father had to be in there. With that thought, the two friends soon went inside. The entire place was a morbid black, any traces of Markham's former life destroyed by Perlis. Ash had never known who Markham was, but he felt a surge of sympathy for the man. A normal person, having their life ended by a rival's greed and their dreams destroyed. The videotape of Perlis ordering Eddie to slaughter Markham played in the boy's head. Perlis... Ash wondered if the man was at least partially responsible for this nightmare. After all, he caused Eddie to go on an animalist rampage before those cult people captured him and gave him his full powers. But then again, this madness hadn't started until after Eddie kidnapped Ash again and tricked Team Rocket to unleash his powers. But then again Tobias was the one who told them about Eddie being a bad guy, and Eddie warned Ash not to trust him. Ash held his head. Why was Eddie doing? ... Ash shocked his head. It didn't matter. Henry mattered.

Meanwhile with Misty, she remembered the place all too well. After all, it had been about a few days since she and the others first learned that Ash had been kidnapped by Team Rocket and Eddie. When she and the others arrived, she was completely out of breath but wouldn't stop until she found Ash. Unfortunately, Team Rocket appeared and forced her and the others into a battle in which the thieves promptly lost. That didn't stop her though. The thought of Ash in the clutches of that murderer had spurred her on, and she would've torn the place - and the killer - apart with her bare hands if she had the chance. Of course, those thoughts stopped when she saw the way Ash was acting. She still had no idea what was going on in his mind right then, but then again he couldn't remember it, so it probably didn't matter. Back with Ash, he prayed silently that Henry was ok. If he lost his father again... with no chance of seeing him again... he didn't know what he would... Just then, both the children heard a noise coming from downstairs. Moaning. "DAD!" Ash yelled. Without thinking twice, Ash bolted down the blackened stairwell. Misty recognized the stairwell as the one she had bolted down herself when she found the note in Ash's room and where Team Rocket had come from when they tried to stop her. It felt like it had happened yesterday, she remembered it that vividly. Misty quickly followed her friend down. The stairwell was long, and as they grew closer to the noise, it grew louder and clearer. The louder it got, the stranger it sounded. But Ash didn't notice nor care. Misty and Pikachu noticed, however. It started to sound more like a monster than a human. "Ash..." She tried to get her friend's attention in vain, for Ash was far ahead of her by now. The girl picked up her pace as they ran into the dark basement. They had just reached the blackened basement when Misty was able to catch up to Ash. The girl quickly put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. The boy whirled around in annoyance. "Misty, what...?" Ash growled. Misty shushes Ash. "Ash, listen!" Misty warned. They both listened. The moaning they had heard was loud and clear now. It didn't sound like a person groaning in pain or fear. It sounded like a huge animal breathing in its sleep. A very dangerous animal. Ash gulped, now very nervous. Neither he nor Misty could see what was in the basement... the entire floor was pitch black. Now that they knew there was something inhuman inside, the children were filled with trepidation. No person or creature could be seen... there was only the faintest light coming from the stair well, illuminating a small patch just in front of them. And there was nothing to see there except the soot from the fire, making Ash and Misty realize that their flashlights had been turned off.

However, before they could turn them back on, Ash noticed something. It looked like a small picture locket on the ground. With a slight curiosity, he picked it up... And then the room glowed red for a few seconds. Ash looked up and gasped. In front of them was a sleeping monster about the size of Pyramid Head that was laying, however it was much more hideous than the other monsters. The creature was humanoid in shape, but had pale white skin and six large muscular arms. It had black hair that was in a ponytail and there was black hair on its shoulders and arms. Its head was shape similarly like a triangle with sharp teeth and large bottom fangs that poke past his lips, similar to Ash's top fangs, however it didn't have any eyes. It did however have two large horns poking out of its hair. The creature had a long serpent tail with spikes at the end. And it had three clawed fingers on each hand that was covered in blood. As the creature breathed out, a red and black mist exited that lit up the room in it's odd light The trainers were terrified of the creature. The two stared at the monster in horror. They had never seen anything like it before. Pikachu didn't know if it could even effect the creature or attack it in the state he was in. Ash looked back at the stairs and quickly signaled Misty to follow him. Misty nodded and the two soon sneak fully walked back to the stairs. However just as Ash stepped on a step, it creaked. Ash gulped as he and Misty looked back. The monster groaned as it got up. It soon growled in anger, signifying that it was awake. It soon got up, using the lower two arms like weights as it stood like an ape. At that moment, the three could see a large round hole in the middle of it's body, showing that it was hallow inside. The monster quickly lumbered towards the children, swiping at the air with its claws. It was actively missing them, telling them to go away. Worse, once it was done, it lifted it's head up and roared in rage. The black smoke became fire, hitting the wooden ceiling. The ceiling began to burn, and an ominous creaking filled the air as the already destroyed foundations began to disintegrate further. The house could not stand another fire. Neither could the children.

...

The rest of the group had been left waiting outside. Cilan sighed as he remembered what Ash told them. Cilan guessed his friend was feeling guilty that they had followed him into this nightmare town. But what else could they have done... let the boy wonder into this hell hole alone? After all isn't that what friends are for? However, something snapped the boy out of his thoughts. Coming from the house were two familiar voices screaming in fear and a large animal. From the sound of it, they hadn't found Henry at all. Cilan, Jessie, James, and Tracy were ready to go inside and save them from whatever creature had attacked them this time, and charged at the house. However, before they were even halfway up Markham's driveway, Misty smashed through the front door, reducing the already decrepit wood to cinders. Through the doorway, Ash and the six armed creature could be seen. The boy and his Pikachu had lingered for a second to fire a thunderbolt at the monster and buy some more time. When it hit, Ash grunts in pain as he felt electricity surging through his body. Why was he feeling pain? The only time he felt attacks was with Pyramid Head? Was THIS the true form of Pyramid Head? But there was no more time. The creature had ignited the house's remains, spreading with alarming speed. Everyone knew the house would be ablaze within seconds, if it didn't imply collapse as the supports were destroyed. "ASH, GET OUT OF THERE!" Iris screamed. Ash heeded her warning, but so did the monster. Taking Pikachu up in his arms, the boy leapt towards the door way. The creature, however, wasn't going to let the boy win, so in these last few precious moments, it took a swipe at the boy's back. One of the longer arms reached the boy, ripping the back of the boy's jacket and destroying his back pack and making the boy drop his . But Ash didn't have time to register pain as he landed just outside the door way, almost on top of Misty. They had both escaped. Just in time...the roof of the house collapsed.

Ash got Misty up to her feet and they ran away from the blazing wreck that used to be Markham's house as a monstrous and pain filled howl filled the area. They almost fell at the group's feet but were caught in time by Tracy. Cilan noticed Ash's back. There were cuts going across his back, bleeding through his shirt. "Ash..." Cilan said. Ash groaned. "Just a scratch..." Ash winched. Tracy had to agree. The monster had only barely got him... these cuts wouldn't slow him down very much. He was lucky... or maybe the monster didn't put it all into it. Once assured that Ash, Misty and Pikachu were alive, the group all turned to Markham's house. It no longer resembled a house anymore. The entire place had been flattened, with only the smallest remnants of walls standing up. Flames disintegrated everything that was left of the building, until it was nothing more than a huge fire pit. Anything or anyone that was left in there could not survive. Everyone turned to Ash, waiting for his reaction. This was where he had hoped to find his father, the reason they had returned to this town. And now... Ash quivered for a few moments, like a volcano ready to burst. His teeth gritted so hard they hurt, and a few tears sprung up in his eyes. His hands clenched into tight fists, ready to crush. Something in his hands cut into his fingers, causing him to finally realize the pain he was feeling. It was horrible like he had been crushed by a million tons. Ash tried his best to ignore the pain and stand strong, however it was obvious he was in agony. Ash soon looked at the thing that was in his hand. Maybe it could distract him from his injuries. It wasn't a medallion per se, but more a sort of pocket picture-frame. A simple thing, wood and circular. Ash saw the back first. On it was what Ash hope was red ink, but felt it was something else. The word written in red, in a messy but legible scrawl, was simply 'FATHER'. Ash turned it over in his hand. It wasn't his father. The man in the picture was blond, with a somewhat melancholy look on his face. He didn't wear glasses. Ash glanced at the picture for a moment before returning it to his pocket. Whose father was that? Edward's? Or was the photo of Edward? The picture did look a lot like Edward. Ash sighed. He looked at his hand, it was bleeding little. Was that the red 'ink'? Why and how would his blood do that? He supposed it didn't matter. Not right now. He had to get the others to safety. Right now, that was his only priority. They had all followed him to this place, out of loyalty. Now they were all getting hurt and barely avoiding getting killed, all because he had to come back for his father. And now the place where they'd hoped to find him was...

Of course, there was a chance that Henry hadn't been there. There were other places Edward could be holding him in. But at the rate they were going, his friends could be dead by the time they found Henry again. And he couldn't have that. He had to get his friends somewhere safe, and right now the hospital seemed like the best candidate. They would get there. Plus Edward was toying with him, like he was doll. He didn't care about the others. Ash didn't know why and it angered him. "Ash, d-don't worry. We'll find Henry. Let's just go to the hospital now. You and the others need medical help." Tracy said. After all, the boy was bleeding badly. Ash soon let a vicious growl as he felt himself losing control. He could feel all the bottled up emotions he was trying so desperately to put behind him begin to surface. Ash could feel his mind hazing as he felt the need to kill something. Ash closed his eyes as he tried to keep himself in control. 'I…I can't let my friends get hurt. Not even from myself. I…I can't let Edward's feelings… _EDWARD'S FEELING!? Who am I fooling with? These feelings are ME! I WANT TO DESTROY AND KILL EVERYTHING! I…I WANT TO MAKE IT ALL STOP!'_ Ash thought as his thoughts became vicious. Ash breathed heavily as he fell to his knees. Not only was he mentally exhausted, but he was losing too much blood. "ASH!" The gang yelled. Cilan and Tracy take off Ash's jacket and shirt to see the wound. Misty gasped at two large slash marks. James pulled out the last med kit they had left and the three males soon began putting on the bandages. Ash breathed heavily as they did this. It was getting harder and harder for him to think properly. The anger and sadness of it all was overwhelming him. Ash could feel himself falling into a dark pit. Ash opened his eyes, however everything was warped and oddly red. The fog was gone, the street was replaced by metal grates, and the buildings were destroyed and burning.

Ash looked to his left in hope to see Pikachu, but instead, there was nothing. Ash looked down and saw his upper arms were pale white while the lower parts were red, and his hands were on their knuckles. Ash looked back and saw six strange monsters. Three were the scorpion monsters Ash had already met. They were touching the boy's back, which now had Charizard wings. The boy also had a tail and it was long and slender with a stinger at the end. Ash looked at the three other monsters which were nurses. Ash looked away and held his head. He could feel two horns in the back. 'Wh-what the!? What's happening to me? Why is everything so wrong? I...It can't be real. It's…It's Edward's fault. IT HAS TO!' Ash thought. He soon heard himself chuckle. _'What's the matter? Scared that I AM the beast the bullies and grandpa told me I was?_ SHUT UP! I'm… I'M NOT A MONSTER! I'M NOT LIKE EDWARD OR PYRAMID HEAD! THEY AREN'T ME!' Ash thought as the urge to scream became more and more appealing. _'Stop lying to yourself. The more you reject yourself, the more and more you become what you feared._ SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOU! YOU…YOU ARE HYDE AREN'T YOU! JUST HERE TO ATTACK ME AND MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I'M NOTHING! BUT I'M NOT NOTHING! I! I! I AM THE EMPEROR!' Ash thought. Suddenly Ash fainted. Tracy catches him so he wouldn't fall over. Misty and Iris gasped. "He'll be fine…I hope. After all, he did lose a lot of blood. It must've put him into shock." Tracy said, worried about his friend. Cilan nodded. Cilan checks Ash's plus by grabbing the boy's hand. "Yes, he's fine. He just needs his rest." Cilan said as he lets go of the boy's hand. Iris sighed. "I can't believe that after all that, we're still no closer to finding Henry. We risked tooth and hair to get here! FOR NOTHING! Now Ash is injured as well! We can't survive in this environment any longer!" Iris yelled. The gang agreed. While they weren't as angry as Iris about this, it still mad that after all that hassle, they were nowhere close to finding Henry. Misty looked at Ash as he woke up again due to Iris' yell. She was very scared for the boy. 'If I hadn't been there, maybe Ash wouldn't have fought that monster, allowing him to escape in time.' Misty thought, guilt beginning to fill her mind. James and team Rocket sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do here. We can only hope that the twerp's father wasn't with that house. The only thing we can do is go to the hospital." Jessie said. Ash sighed as he looked away. "Y…yeah." Ash coldly said. Ash soon grabbed Tracy's hands and forced him to let go. Ash soon stood up, however soon wobbled. Misty grabbed his left wrist to make sure he didn't fall. Ash soon stabilize himself as he looked at the others. The warm happy glow in his eyes was gone and he wasn't smiling. But after what he had been though, it was understandable. "Let's go now." Ash said as he began walking.

After that... The monsters walked, hissed, growled and roared in the fog, but nothing attacked the weary group as they trudged towards Yoka Village Hospital. The noises were distant, although they still sounded too close for comfort. However, it seemed the group had stopped listening. The group was no longer as terrified as it had been before. Now, they were just... tired. Tired of all this madness, tired of fearing for their lives, tired of walking through this town. They need to rest, recover. But they knew they couldn't stop until they reached the hospital. Cilan didn't have the medical supplies to bandage their wounds any more than he already had. Hopefully, the hospital would have more. For endless minutes nothing happened. The Pokémon trainers reached another part of Yoka Village, a place with tall brick apartment buildings and department stores. A dead man was hanging on his balcony, dangling from a noose improvised with an electric cord. Iris told Axew not to look at it. What drove this person to taking his own life? A small dark shape darted across their line of vision, and James let out a shriek of surprise. Another one, slightly larger, hovered around a nearby dumpster. They were moving too fast to be registered as anything other than something unnatural. When another shape got too close to Ash, Pikachu shot it down with a Thunderbolt. Tracy blinked in confusion. "A Shuppet?" He asked. Sure enough, the puppet like creature recovering from the electric attack was nothing more than a common Shuppet. The Pokémon got itself up and shook itself, but instead of counterattacking Pikachu, it simply flew off with a smile on its face. Shuppet and its evolution Banette were flitting around in large numbers throughout the district. They all seemed to have giddy smiles on their faces, and watching them brought to mind drunken revelers at a party. A few of them were laughing, a jarring merry noise in the otherwise dead quiet town. A small group of them were even dancing around the hanging man. Misty was confused and more than a little disturbed. "Why on earth are they so cheerful?" Misty asked. Meowth and Pikachu soon felt uncomfortable as they knew the reason. "Well… they feed on negative emotions like envy and vengeance, maybe even fear…" Cilan replied. Meowth sighed. "I guess there's so much in the town, they've got drunk." Meowth added. Ash snarled. "Yeah, they must be loving it here." Ash remarked bitterly. A Shuppet soon hovers around him. Ash growled, but it seemed to ignore him and float off. The group continued on, doing their best to ignore the giggling sounds of the ghost Pokémon. They were almost as unbearable as the cries of the monsters.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many Shuppets and Banettes in my life." Iris remarked. Cilan agreed. This line of Pokémon was rare in Unova, so seeing so many was a bit jarring. However, even with that, the group kept walking through the alleyway, wondering when exactly they would get to the hospital. Something soft fell on Jessie's head. She felt her hair quickly, and found brick dust. The girl immediately looked up, but nothing could be seen above her in the fog. A tapping noise, the sound of shoes in an unnatural walk, emanated from somewhere in the fog. Cilan forced the group to stop. Was that human footsteps? At the end of the alleyway, the fog was thick enough to obscure whatever street the way opened for. For a few breathless seconds, nothing happened. Then a figure appeared in the fog, nothing more than a distant shadow, walking towards the group. Pikachu started growling. From what the group could tell, it was human. A woman… albeit one with a very strange limp… Cilan breathed a small sigh of relief. "Miss? Are you okay? Did you hurt your leg?" Cilan asked. She didn't reply, and just shuffled closer and closer to the group. More features could be seen as she lumbered forward. She was a grown woman, rather tall and busty, wearing bloodied white scrubs that seemed to be low-cut, and a long dress skirt that flowed. It was an odd looking nurse uniform. Some sort of metal pipe was in clutched in her hand. Ash and the others soon realized what it was. It was one of the nurse monsters from Sanitarium. Everything about it was the same, even the hair was similar. The gang quickly froze up as they realized this. Everyone except for Ash, who's eyes became vicious as he looked at it.

"YOU!" Ash snarled as she came closer. The faceless monster looked exactly like the one from the hotel, the one who knocked him out and kidnapped him, the one with the scalpel going through his chest… Rage overtook Ash and he leap right at the faceless nurse, his hands ready to wrap around her throat… but in the blink of an eye, the nurse had swatted him away with the pipe, twisting her upper body in an unnatural manner. The boy slammed into the wall hard, all the breath knocked out of his lungs. The nurse shifted her body back to normal, letting out hideous cracking noises with every move she made. She raised her pipe to hit Ash again… "Pika pa pi!" Pikachu hit her with an electro ball squarely in the chest. The faceless nurse crumbled at the attack, losing her grip on her pipe and falling to the ground. Pikachu pinned her down as she seemed to stop moving. Ash quickly got back up again and grabbed the pipe the nurse had dropped. Ash then grabbed the monster's 'hair'. Suddenly Ash growled in anger. "I want answers! Why did you kidnap me? Why did you take Henry? TALK! Or I'll! I'll! I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET IT!" Ash yelled as he tried to think of a consequence he could tell the monster. However, it creature didn't talk as it rattled it's head back in forth, trying to free itself from his grasp. Ash growled as his eyes became more red. "FINE! I WARNED YOU!" Ash yelled. He soon ripped off what was covering the creature's face. He quickly dropped it into a nearby trashcan. The face was not human; it had no nose, no lips. Its eyes were big and red and its mouth didn't have any teeth. Everyone gasped in horror and disgust as they looked at the creature. Ash dropped the creature in horror and quickly covered his eyes. "Smooth going hero…" Misty told Ash. He groaned once he heard that. Ash soon looked at her again. Even though her mask was gone, she still looked cute to him for some odd reason that he couldn't explain. Suddenly the nurse recovered and Pikachu was abruptly smacked into a wall. "PIKACHU!" Ash yelled in horror as he watched his best friend be hurt like that. Ash growled as he looked at the nurse creature, however before he could react, the nurse kicked him away. Tracy quickly catches Ash as Cilan rushed over to Pikachu and picked it up. Ash sighed as he recovered. The nurse paused as if contemplating its next move, head rattling like a bobble-doll. Then, before anyone could attack, it jumped straight up, out of the group's sight. Nobody moved for a second. "What… was… that?" Tracy asked. Ash sighed as he got up and looked at his friends. "The nurse I told you guys about." Ash muttered, "Just another monster." Meowth's eyes suddenly became very wide. "Um…Don't be relaxing too soon. It got back up." He squeaked.

Ash whirled around and saw two more faceless nurses had suddenly dropped down from above, blocking the way out. They were both carrying scalpels and some sort of syringe. Their joints creaked and snapped as they began running towards the group, sharp weapons at the ready… Pikachu stopped both of them with a powerful Thunderbolt, paralyzing them in their tracks. Without a second thought, Ash bulldozed through them, knocking the two creatures aside. Everyone followed, running as fast as they could to the exit… Only to find an army of the nurse monsters waiting. The one with the torn-off mask was at the forefront, and pointed at the group and Ash with her bloodied finger. Several dozen of the nurses, all armed with syringes, scalpels and bludgeons, closed in on the group. Several were floating in the air like they were psychic, ready to pounce on their prey. One of them leap behind Cilan, and before the boy could turn around, a syringe was thrust into his neck. Iris hears his shriek and smashed the nurse aside with her baton. However, it did nothing to the monster. She then saw him fall to the ground, unconscious. Another nurse knocked her out with a blow to the back of the head. Pikachu fired Thunderbolt after thunderbolt and the advancing legion, but they were always more coming from every corner. Axew was using his Dragon Breath; however, the results were the same as Pikachu's. A flung syringe hits the mouse, and with a squeal of anger, the Pokémon crumbled to the ground. Another one flew and hit Axew. It cried out and then fell down quickly. Ash and Misty bravely charged forward, but were quickly lost amidst the legion of faceless nurses.

Tracy tried to follow their example, but a blow from one of the nurse's crowbars felled him as well. Ash was hemmed in by the nurses, losing sight of Misty. The creature's bludgeons hit him several times, but he would not go down. His metal pipe smashed aside nurse after nurse in his bold struggle. His teeth were gritted as he fought them. He had to protect his friends… A syringe stabbed him in the chest. The boy felt everything go black. 'No… I can't… I have to keep… everyone…' Ash thought. Strangely, the nurses had stopped hitting him, simply waiting for him to fall. He swung his pipe at thin air, feeling it grow heavier and heavier as everything went darker and darker. 'Can't…. lose…. everyone… Misty… Pikachu… Henry…' Ash thought, his head becoming heavy. The pipe fell from his hands, clattering on the ground. 'No… D…Dawn… forgive me…' Ash thought. Ash fell to his knees, unable to keep himself up. He had failed. He couldn't protect his father, and now he couldn't protect his friends. This was all his fault. He never should have come back here. He never should have come here, period. Pikachu was right; this was a trap like Dr. Young's invitation. If only he had been stronger. Tears sprung in his eyes before they were too heavy for him to keep open. The boy helplessly fell to the ground, joining all his friends. Everything went completely black, and the cracking shuffles of the faceless nurses came closer and closer. He had failed.


	21. Chapter 20

ch. 20

 **(Hey guys, it's Aura! It didn't take that long for me to make this chapter so hopefully the next few ones will be as easy as this one. Although...the ending has to be tweaked a 'little' bit more. I got a new imagination for it and I think it's better than what I was going to do. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter.)**

Ash groaned as he woke up. However, instead of being in the street he had been in, he was in a large room with a table in the middle. On the table were beakers and other sciency things. Ash got up and looked around. His body was heavy and everything was a little fuzzy. Ash held his head. It was buzzing evenly. Ash soon noticed a mirror in the corner of the room. Ash blinked as he walked towards it. He wasn't sure why but he felt like something was different. However, when he got to the mirror, the only thing different about him were his clothes. They were obviously way too big for him and look like they were from some far off place. Ash oddly felt a smile on his face. "Free~." Edward's voice came out of his lips. Ash soon covered his mouth. 'Wh-what the? Why was my voice Eddie's? What is this place? Why…why do I feel so happy to be like this?' Ash thought. Ash shocked his head as he regained control over himself. He wasn't going to let Eddie take over him like this. Ash looked at himself in the mirror. However, instead of his reflection, the mirror showed an image of Ash in Pewter City. However, the Ash in the mirror wasn't normal Ash. He had green eyes, he wore a blue hoodie, a black undershirt, blue and black shoes, black gloves with green wrist bands, and large baggy pants; and he had a vicious look in his eyes. Ash soon realized what was going on. He was seeing the events that happened back while he was taking on the Battle Frontier. Ash's eyes shrank as he realized this was the event that caused him to really fear Edward. "No. No! Stop it! I…I put that behind me! It wasn't my fault! Why…WHY ARE YOU SHOWING THIS, ME!?" Ash asked himself. Ash soon felt paralyzed as he heard himself chuckle, however it was Edward's voice that came out. "Because you refuse to acknowledge what you are. You keep blaming this 'Edward' person for all of your problems, when really, you have nothing to blame but yourself." Edward said as the image showed Ash going into a dark alleyway. Suddenly the imageAsh pulled out a knife and attacked a poor woman, slashing at her. Ash wanted to close or cover his eyes from this, but his body refused to do so. Ash could hear Edward laughing at this. Suddenly the scene switches to Ash attacking a man this time. "STOP IT! PLEASE! STOP IT!" Ash screamed, hoping that would make his body move again. Suddenly the image showed some people around a news boy. Oddly music could be heard. _"Read about the hideous MURDER! Profane and religious MURDER! That poor Bishop, what a shock!"_ The paper boy sang. Soon a girl walked into view. _"Seen walking with his daughter. A moment prior to slaughter."_ She sang. The news boy looked at her. _"A shepherd tending to his flock."_ The boy sang.

" _He died in a London slump."_ Three girls sang. Ash was confused. Why are they talking about London? It doesn't exist. Suddenly a tall woman step forward. She kind of looked like Misty. _"A slave to marmalade."_ She sang. Soon three guys appeared. _"He died without complaint."_ They sang. Suddenly Brock was in view. _"He should be made a saint."_ Brock sang. Ash soon noticed he was in the group, but holding a red umbrella will everyone else was holding a black one. 'Wow, that's pretty obvious. Why isn't anyone noticing me?' Ash wondered, confused. _"He was a Connemara, he lost his very life. Why should it be… this mystery?"_ They sang. Suddenly the area started to rain. _"Murder, murder on the night air. Murder, murder is a nightmare. Murder, Murder is a right scare. Murder, Murder in the NIGHT~!"_ They sang. Ash nodded. This was a nightmare and he wanted it to stop. _"Murder, Murder makes your heart pump. Murder, Murder makes your nerves jump. Murder, Murder makes your blood pump. Bloody Murder in the NIGHT~!"_ The people sang. Ash was a bit weird-ed out by the 'Bloody' thing, since aren't murders always bloody? Ash however couldn't think of why they were redundant as the image shifted to a funeral. 'It must be for that guy I killed… by… why aren't they mentioning the girl I killed as well.' Ash thought, a little confused as the music became more somber. _"Sweet death has taken this brave man~ from us."_ The priest sang. Suddenly the people sang, but it was hard to tell what they were singing about. _"Friends take what comfort that you CAN~ from US~!"_ The priest sang. Then the group sang again, but sounded as inoperable as last time.

Suddenly the image changes to Ash in front of another man. Image Ash had an evil smile on him. "NO! STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP!" Ash screamed at the mirror, wishing this would stop. The monster in the mirror smiled. _**"General Gossip, I'm happy to inform you that you are relieved from your duties sir. ALL OF THEM!"**_ Image Ash yelled, having the same voice as the storyteller. Then the image killed the man. The scene then switches to the crowd and the paperboy. 'Wait… does… does that mean Edward is the story teller? I… I guess that makes scene, but why does he have two voices?' Ash thought, confused and scared. _"Look at this, another murder. Just like that other murder. That poor old General Gossip. Dead."_ Brock's dad sang. Suddenly the newspaper boy walked up to him. _"Last week that bishop croaked it. That bloke who done and hoped it. That fella must be off his head."_ The boy sang. Ash held his head. He didn't know why but it felt like they were talking about him. Ash shocked his head. 'N-no. It's Eddie's fault. He's the mad one. He's doing this. Why… why must you keep making me watch this?' Ash asked himself and Eddie. Edward chuckled, but said nothing. _"That's two in the last four days. That killer has fancy ways."_ A guy who looked like Tracy sang. Ash held himself. He desperately wanted to smash the mirror, but his body wasn't letting him. _"To kill outside Saint Paul's, requires a lot of balls."_ A woman sang. Ash was confused. What did Pokeballs had to do with his crimes or this Saint Paul's place. Ash soon realized that Saint Paul's never existed in Pewter city. 'So… what's going on now?' Ash thought, confused. _"He hates the upper class."_ One guy sang. Ash frowned. While he wasn't that found of some of the snobby rich people, he felt offended that someone would generalize it to that. Ash shocked his head. 'No! This isn't me! Stop thinking that it is!' Ash told himself. _"He must be on his ass!"_ Another guy sang. The gang looked at the newspaper boy. _"Who could it be?"_ One of the guys asked. The newspaper boy waved his hands. _"Don't look at me."_ He sang. Suddenly the group looked at themselves, not noticing Ash in the background. _"Bloody Murder in the Night. MURDER, MURDER IS A FOLK SIN! MURDER, MURDER IS THE WORST SIN! MURDER, MURDER HAS ME SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER IN THE NIGHT~! MURDER, MURDER MAKE MY BLOOD THIN! MURDER, MURDER HAS MY HEAD SPIN! MURDER, MURDER STARTS ME DRINKING! BLOODY MURDER, MURDER IN THE NIGHT~! IN THE NIGHT!"_ They sing. Then it switches to the girl Ash had killed earlier, and it horror Ash that he had to watch it again. _**"Bessy my love, you really should be more careful wearing your real diamonds here on the street. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU'RE GOING TO ENCOUNTER!"**_ Image Ash sang, then killed her. The scene soon changed to a very angry mob. _"LONDON HAS A KILLER ON THE LOSE!"_ The crowd screamed. The woman who looked like Misty held her arms. _"Could be a gang!"_ She sang.

" _GOTTA HANG HIS HEAD INSIDE A NOSE!"_ They sang. Ash became scared. _"The man must hang!"_ The man who looked like Brock sang. Ash touched his throat in fear and gulped _. "Maybe his nerves will bend him."_ The woman proposed. Ash nodded. 'I'm not a bad guy.' Ash tried to tell them, but his voice would not let him speak. _"They got to go try and nab him!"_ The man sang. The two group soon sang together, _"They got to trial and jail him now! MURDER! No matter who we're blaming! Till they put what's his name is! THERE'S GOING TO BE ONE FLAMING CROWD! MURDER, MURDER IS A CURSE MAN! MURDER, MURDER IS PERVERSE MAN! MURDER, MURDER NOTHING'S WORSE THAN BLOODY MURDER IN THE NIGHT~!"_ Suddenly the image changed to another cold and empty street. A frighten old man was walking down the street as a low beat played. Ash was terrified and knew, this wasn't going to end well. Suddenly a red hand grabbed the man's shoulder as image Ash whispered in his ears. _**"Bad news from god, Teddy."**_ The monster said. Then went into manically laughing as he killed the man. Ash was horrified how gleeful this monster was. He knew Edward was a bad man, but Ash was horrified by how…into this the monster was. Ash soon clutched his fists as he remembered what Eddie is doing now. The image soon changed back to the newspaper boy and the mob. _"Read about the worst two murders!"_ The paper boy sang. Two girls looked at him. _"Much worse than the first two murders."_ One of them sang. The group gulped. "That makes them murders three and four." They sang. Suddenly a little boy became visible. He looked a lot like Max. _"That make them murders three and four."_ He repeated. Ash felt sorry for the kid. He had to listen about murders and death. Things very uncommon in the world.

" _They murdered dear old Betty."_ One of the females sang. Ash figured she was the young woman he…no Edward killed. _"I heard extremely messy."_ Another one sang. Another girl became horrified as her eyes shrank. _"And poor old Archy is no more."_ She sang. The other girls became very scared. _"They say a lot of blood and gore."_ One of the other girls sang. Ash flinch as he remembered that murder as well. _"That's four in the last eight days. It's London latest craze!"_ They all sang. Suddenly one of the woman looked brave. It reminded him of Misty. _"_ _This time 'e was in Perk Lane! An' 'e may come back again!"_ She sang. The other women became scared. _"Until the killers found, there's danger all around."_ They sang. The group soon looked sad. _"What can one do~? We wish we knew~!"_ They asked, scared. The image soon switches to Ash killing another man. The monster laughs. The image then switches back to the group. _"Catching such a mad man could be tough."_ The men sang. Ash gulped. He wished there was some way Edward could be stop without killing himself. _"He'll kill at will!"_ One woman sang. The other women scoffed. _"Cos they're all so thick at Scotland Yard!"_ The women sang. Ash was confused. What was Scotland Yard? _"No Brains!"_ One man yelled. The man who looked like Brock's father step forward. _"No skill!"_ He yelled. The group then looked at each other. _"He'll kill us, if let him! They'd better go and get him!"_ They sang as they began to dance. A man who looked like Gary soon smiled. _"I know a way to net him!"_ He proclaimed. One woman who looked like Misty looked at him like he was nuts. _"How!?"_ She yelled.

" _Murder!"_ They all yelled.

 _"No matter who we're blaming! Till they put what's his name in! There's gonna… There's gonna… There's gonna… THERE'S GONNA BE ONE FLAMING CROWD~!_ _MURDER, MURDER ON OUR DOORSTEP! MURDER, MURDER SO WATCH…YOU'RE STEP! MURDER, MURDER TAKE ONE… MORE STEP OR YOU'LL BE MURDERED IN THE NIGHT~!"_ They all sang. The song became faster as their and Ash's fear became higher. _"MURDER, MURDER CAUSE THERE'S ONE DONE! MURDER, MURDER CAN'T BE UNDONE! MURDER, MURDER MAKES YOUR HEART PUMP! BLOODY MURDER IN THE NIGHT~! IN THE NIGHT~!"_ They all sang. Then the song ended and the mirror became black. Ash breathed heavily after the song. After a few seconds, Ash growled. "Edward, show yourself! You're going to pay for what you've done! I WON'T LET YOU RUIN MORE LIVES!" Ash yelled, finally being able to speak his mind. Suddenly he heard Edward laughing. Suddenly the mirror cleared up and the boy saw Edward gleefully enjoying the boy's misery. Edward chuckled. "What can you do, boy? You can't stop me. No one can. You're a loser. Always was and always will be." Edward mocked. Ash growled. "I'm…I'M GOING TO STOP YOU AND GET HENRY BACK!" Ash roared, his anger rising as he glared at the monster. Edward smirked. "Oh really? You could barely survive the attack from that giant beast and was knocked out the nurses. You can't hurt me. You can't do anything. You're a weak and pathetic loser." Edward said, then laughed.

Ash growled as his eyes became red. "NO! I'M NOT A LOSER! I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE TO ANYONE EVER AGAIN! I WILL BECOME STRONGER AND STRONGER AND STRONGER!" Ash roared. Suddenly he let out a monstrous roar. Ash soon rushed to the mirror. "Stronger! STRONGER! STRONGER!" Ash yelled, then landed a mighty punch to the mirror, cracking it into many pieces. Ash laughs as he retracted his hand. All sanity seemed to have left the poor boy. Suddenly the laughter was mirrored by smaller voices. Ash stopped laughing as a siren could be heard. The walls caught on fire and began crumbling down. Ash became afraid and soon rushed towards an old looking door. He burst through them and noticed he was now in a wide barren place. Ash looked back and saw Danvers's house burning. Ash sighed as he realized that he was safe now. Suddenly the house crumbles into a large bottomless hole. "Huh?" Ash said, confused by why that happened. Suddenly he heard a chanting. _Daddy… daddy… daddy… daddy…_ Ash looked around in confusion, however there was nothing around him. Ash sighed in relief until he realized that the world was now a distorted version of itself. The sky was covered in a fierce thunderstorm and the ground was covered into a metal grating covered in blood. Ash gulped as he realized that he was in big trouble. However, before he could try to get out of this horrible place, he felt his arms pulsating in pain. Ash screamed as he fell to his knees and grabbed his shoulders. He looked at one and saw his now bare shoulder glowing red. Ash removed his hand and to his horror, the strange symbol was now glowing red and bleeding. Ash looked at his hands and saw they were covered in blood. Ash closed his eyes. 'This…this is a bad dream. It…It has to. I'll…I'll wake up to Misty, Tracy, Iris, Cilan, and Pikachu and…' Ash soon remembered what happened when he was 'awake'. "Oh no! I gotta!" Ash yelled, however when he tried to get up, he felt a pain in his back as he felt something slash at him. Ash screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Ash groaned as he felt something grab his ankles. Ash's eyes fluttered open. He soon realized he was being pulled away. He looked back and to his horror, he was being dragged to the deep pit by the skull-headed children. When he tried to force himself out of their clammy grasp, they dug in with their knives. And they never stopped chanting that eerie refrain...

 _Daddy... daddy... daddy... daddy..._

Ash turned his head forward as he tried grabbing the metal grating that the ground had become, but the mesh was making it impossible for him to hold on to. His fingers slid off. Ash looked back and saw he was coming closer and closer to the hole...

 _Daddy... daddy... daddy..._

"LET ME GO!" Ash screamed in vain. The creatures had reached the pit with their catch, and lifted the boy onto their shoulders to throw him in. _Daddy..._ And with a might throw, Ash was dumped into the bottomless hole... Ash was falling through it, screaming for what seemed an eternity... And then he woke up. The first thing Ash register was the bumping, the sensation felt when inside a fast-moving vehicle. His vision was still a little blurry, so he tried to raise his hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes... and discovered his wrists were strapped down. Just like the last time the nurse monsters knocked him out. His eyes opened wide to take in his current surroundings and situation. The vehicle he was in had IV stands and first-aid kits stained with blood all over the place so he knew he was in an ambulance. Ash was strapped to a hospital gurney that had been chained in place. Built-in mats, on top of each other like bunk beds were chained onto the walls and were carrying four other people. Ash recognized them all...Cilan, Jessie, Misty, and Iris. He didn't see Tracy, Axew, Pikachu, Meowth, or James anywhere. Ash had to crane his head slightly, but he caught a glimpse of the driver. Another 'nurse', from the look of it. Same twitching head, same outfit, same nonexistent face. They were being taken...but where? Ash didn't move for a few minutes, not wanting to alert the driver too soon. But when the boy looked out the closest window, he saw a sign that pointed the way to Yoka Village Hospital...and this ambulance was driving the opposite way. Ash began wriggling his wrist out of the straps eminently. He had to get free. The nurse was taking him and his friends who-knows-where, and he couldn't have that. For all he knew, it was driving them off a cliff, or sending them straight to Pyramid Head to turn them into hamburgers for his dogs. The boy tried to get himself free without making any noise, but with the tight straps, it was a difficult process to say the least. Suddenly Ash heard Jessie mumbling herself awake. The woman was quiet, but Ash guessed she was having a nightmare. "James...? James, where are you? James?" Jessie's voice whispered out. Everyone had nightmares in this town, waking or sleeping, it seemed.

Suddenly a very loud musical tone came from Cilan's bunk. The noise echoed though the ambulance, waking everyone else up. Jessie opened her eyes and yelled. "Meowth! Turn down that racket!" She yelled, but soon realized that she was strapped to the bed. She looked to her left. "Meowth? James?" Jessie questioned. Everyone else groggily woke up. A few of them mumbled at first, but upon seeing their situation they became very quiet. The nurse turned her head around on her neck to investigate the noise. The musical tone rang obnoxiously through the moving vehicle, some pop boy band song. Cilan blushed. Ash, however, was more worried about his friends safety now that they had altered the nurse. Whatever the tone was, it got the Nurse's attention. The ambulance came to a stop and the Nurse got out of her seat, grabbed a metal pipe and lumbered to the back. Ash redoubled his efforts to free his hands. Cilan shrieked at the sight of the faceless nurse standing over him. A snap was heard to where Ash was. The creature didn't seem to notice the sound, but instead focused on the musical tone that was emanating from Cilan's bunk. After digging through Cilan's pockets, the monster found the source on the first noise... the Xtransceiver, having received a message. The nurse stared at the phone for a second... When Ash suddenly smashed an IV stand over the creature's head. The nurse fell to the floor, the phone rolling from it's hands. "Ash, what are you..." Cilan asked. The boy didn't answer, immediately removing the straps holding Cilan down. Once he was free, Ash turned to do the same to Misty. He had gotten one arm loose when the nurse rose and grabbed him in a headlock. Ash growled and bit into the nurse's arm, but the faceless creature didn't seem to notice.

With its other arm, the nurse raised the pipe to smash over the boy's head. It would've had the club not been snatched out of its grasp by Cilan. The nurse's head did a 180 degree turn on its neck, much to Cilan's horror. "EAAAAAUGHHHHH!" Letting out a scream, the boy reflectively hit the creature square in the head. Very hard. Much to everyone's shock, Cilan's attack had completely smashed the nurse's head in, killing it. Apparently nurses could survive having their 'faces' ripped off, but not having their heads crushed. The grasp on Ash weakened, and the creature's body crumpled to the floor of the ambulance. Cilan stared wide-eyed at the dead figure on the ground, a mixture of accomplishment and horror keeping him dead silent. Ash shook his head clear and continued to undo Misty's straps. The girl was more than a little disturbed that Ash seemed unaffected by what Cilan had done, but reminded herself that those 'nurses' weren't human, although, the notion only helped a little. Once Misty was free, Ash undid Jessie's straps while Misty saw to Iris's. The first thing Jessie did once she was free was glare at Cilan. "Why didn't you call earlier?" She yelled at Cilan. Cilan sweated. "I tried while we were at the restaurant, Ash, but it only got static." Cilan replied. The woman sighed, and then looked around. "Where's James and Meowth?" Jessie asked. Cilan looked around and noticed that they were the only ones in the van. "And Pikachu?" Cilan asked. Misty gulped. "And Tracy?" Misty asked. Iris soon gasped in shock and horror. "AND AXEW!?" Iris yelled, very worried. Ash sighed as he looked away. "They're not here." Ash coldly said, "They must've put them in another ambulance." Iris suddenly grabbed Ash by the collar and made him look at her. "I can't lose him! If he's hurt, I will never forgive you, Ash! Not to mention, Elder will have a fit if she learns about this! Where is he?" Iris yelled. Ash sweated. "I-I don't know, Iris! C-calm down! W-we'll find him!" Ash stammered. Iris's face warped into a furious expression. "You don't know!? We've lost our best friends! We're stuck in this town! And now we're dead meat! All because we followed you in here!" Iris yelled as she slammed her fist right into the boy's face, "This is all your fault!" Iris would've done more, but Cilan stopped her. "Iris, calm down! This isn't helping!" Cilan yelled. Iris snarled. "What else can I do, huh? We can't find Ash's dad, we couldn't get to the hospital, and we've lost Tracy, James, Pikachu AND AXEW, and we have no idea where to find them!" Iris yelled. Iris gasped before she finally broke down into tears.

"Arceus... what do we do now?" Iris cried. Nobody had an answer. Cilan picked up the phone from the floor. "This from Tracy..." Cilan said. Iris swiftly got up. She was happy for once, finally shred of pure hope for once. She was so glad Cilan and Tracy had traded numbers back when they first met. They all looked at phone. It was a text message. Everyone crowded around it to see what it read. _"I'm with James and Henry. He's alive, we're ok. I don't know where we are. I'll call you back. Don't call me. I don't want to alert guard."_ It said.

(Meanwhile.)

Tracy tucked his phone into his pocket, praying that their guard hadn't noticed him sending a message. He just glad he was able to spell check it so it didn't sound too garbled. He was in a large iron cage, dangling above the floor like a captive canary. A pillow and blanket had been provided, thank goodness for small favors. Unfortunately, that was all he could see clearly right now. The place was pitch black with hardly any lights. He could barely make out the other cages and see what they were in like, but other than that, it was all darkness. He could see light stocks near the cages, but they were off and there were no windows. He knew James, Henry, and Pikachu were in nearby cages. James could be heard snoring right beside him since they were sharing the same cage, and the boy found himself envying the crook. Pikachu had tried to break out of its own cage, but the material of the cage was resistant to its electrical attacks. Thankfully during that time, he could see a bit better and saw Axew next to Pikachu, which he couldn't see in the darkness. Eventually the little mouse just gave up and was now lying on the floor softly crying. Henry was here too... Tracy had to squint his eyes to see his figure, on the far end of the room they were in. He was being held in... Something, but was it a cage? He couldn't tell. He never had seen this kind of darkness before in his life and his flashlight was gone. From Pikachu's electric attacks, all Tracy could see was that the room was large, bare and had a lot of fans in the walls. All of the cages were on a ledge high above another floor, and Tracy figured that they had been put there to have a clear view of whatever happened down there.

However, he couldn't make anything else, no matter how hard he tried. He tried to focus on any details he could use to figure out the location, but was interrupted by the loud, hideous scraping sound coming closer - the guard. Tracy shivered hard as the unmistakable noise came closer and closer to him. Had the guard noticed him sending the message? Tracy covered his ears and willed himself to become very small as the huge sentry came closer and closer. The scarping sound became earsplitting, and Tracy knew the guard was right behind him now. The boy didn't look up, not daring to see the terrifying figure that had been pacing around the cages, keeping an eye on his prisoners. The noise grew slightly quieter, and Tracy realized the guard had just walked past him, not stopping his usual route. He breathed a silent sigh of utter relief. The boy prayed his friends would come soon. He didn't know how long before Eddie tried to do something with them.

...

After throwing the nurse's body out of the vehicle, the group held a quick conference on where to go next. Trying the phone for help soon proved useless again... no-one picked up at the police station, and for some reason they couldn't call anyone outside Yoka Village. The only place anyone could think of was their original destination, the hospital. They were still wounded and Iris need to rest... after that attack of hysteria, she was in no condition to warder the town. Nobody blamed her for it. At least one good thing came out of their experience they had a vehicle now and could reach the hospital in a fast and relatively safe manner. It was a good thing Jessie knew how to drive. Ash, of course, could as well, but Misty insisted that the thief was the one to drive. Ash sighed as he sat in the back. Riding the ambulance through the streets of Yoka Village, Ash had a flashback of his car trip with Henry... to think he only had it about a day ago. His first and, so far, his only experience with his father. Just before that... monster took him. Ash was elated to hear that Henry was alive and everyone else was OK. But he still had no idea where they were, and even with Tracy's contact, he doubted he would find out anytime soon. But they were all OK. That was important. Now if they would stay OK long enough for him to find them... save them... Ash soon noticed that several creatures were trying to chase the ambulance, but they were easy to shake off. Strangely easy. Ash started to wonder if they were even trying anymore, if they were just as weary of this insanity as he was. Or maybe it was Jessie's driving. She moved pretty fast. Or maybe Edward was just having him have it easy for now? That monster somehow could read Ash's mind so it was a possibility. All Ash knows about him is that he's an excellent manipulator.

Ash sighed as he glanced out the window. A part of him wonder if...if the nurse was originally going where Edward were holding their captives. Ash almost regretted breaking everyone free, but what else could he have done? What else could he do other than try to be the hero? 'But what if I'm not a hero? What if…what if I'm making things worse?' Ash thought. Ash shivered as he felt the nagging fear build up inside of him. The fear that he didn't deserve to be a Pokémon trainer and should be caged up like…like a beast. Ash shocked his head. 'No! Don't! D-don't think that. It's not important. I'm…I'm not the reason everything's like this. It's Edward's fault. It's always Edward's fault!' Ash told himself. However, that fear still remained in his mind... The gang were at Yoka Village Hospital in minutes. It seemed anticlimactic, arriving at the place with little difficulty after all that had happened. But nobody was interested in complaining or thinking it odd. The hospital was standard, a huge white building with a red cross signifying its purpose. There was really not much else to say about the place...the only thing unusual about it were the scattered corpses of monsters around the building. At this point, nobody bothered to wonder why that was. There was a garage of sorts, where the ambulances were parked. Jessie headed inside, thanks to a door opener above the vehicle's steering wheel. Once the vehicle had been parked, everybody entered the hospital. Iris had to use Misty as a crutch, but the group steadily limped and lumbered through the apparently deserted hospital. The lights had been shorted out, casting the hospital in darkness. Luckily Cilan still had a flashlight handy. Remarkably, the entire hospital seemed relatively untouched. The only signs of struggle were a few overturned wheelchairs and scattered papers. There were a few bloodstains, but no signs of real violence. The building was as quiet as the grave. Almost. The group kept hearing noises. Sounds of shuffling, sighing, and groaning. This time, these noises were human. But nobody knew where the noises were coming from... they seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Worse, the distinctive cracking noises of those faceless Nurses echoed occasionally through the building, although no-on saw any more Nurses. Cilan figured that proper medical supplies would be in a storage room somewhere or even just any of the rooms. But all the doors were either locked or broken, much to everyone's frustration. The group kept trudging through the blackened hallways of Yoka Hospital, hoping something would happen.

Then they heard something coming up from behind them, the click-click-click of woman's heels echoing in the hallway. "Um... excuse me..." A woman's voice said. Everyone whirled around in surprise, expecting another monster. Their suspicions seemed confirmed when the flashlight beam illuminated a nurse's uniform. Ash was about to attack when Cilan stopped him. The woman's face, hair and cardigan made the young man realize this wasn't another monster. "Lisa!" Cilan said in great happiness. Ash blinked. Sure enough, this was the very-human nurse that he had woken up to after he got his scar. The woman held her hands in front of her face to block the sudden flashlight. "It's you guys! I thought you had left already." She said. Ash hadn't noticed it earlier but she had an 'odd' smell. However, they didn't seem to notice. 'Maybe I'm just paranoid. After all that has happened, it wouldn't surprise me.' Ash thought. "We got diverted," Iris groaned bitterly. Ash cringed at his friend's tone. Cilan smiled broadly. "Thank goodness you're here, Lisa! We've had a few... scrapes we need to bandage properly." Cilan said. The other chuckled nervously. "Scrapes?" Lisa said in confusion. Lisa glanced at Iris' leg and Ash's bandaged torso. Lisa motions them to follow her. "Let's not talk up here. I can get you bandaged up in a jiffy and Tobias can help ease your nerves." She said. Everyone followed her, glad to see a friendly face at last. They weren't so glad when they reached the hospital basement.

With the main and backup generator blown out, the lighting as improvised: candles, flashlights, electric charges and fire Pokémon. But there was enough light to see what was on that floor. Dozens of people and Pokémon were huddled together, wounded and bandage but still alive. They were all shivering in fear, talking nervously about what was happening outside. A few Pokémon, some unharmed but others as badly hurt as their trainers, sat next to their unconscious trainers, loyally watching over them. A few men and women were sobbing about loved ones they had lost. "Everyone was caught by surprise." Lisa explained as she treated the wounds on Iris' leg. "The patients that were already here and... well, people like you guys. Everyone thought to come to the hospital. There are people in the rooms upstairs, but most of the patients feel it's safer down here." The gang nodded. However, Ash was still confused as to what she was doing in the sanitarium. The rest of the gang soon sat down as the town's doctors began examining them. "I'm surprised no monsters have attacked." Misty said. One of the doctors was treating Misty's leg. The girl winced in pain for a second. "They did early on... that's what happened to the generator. But they stopped when Tobias came here. He came up with a plan and set up some…" Lisa said; her eyes grew far away for a second. "...Sentries, they've been keeping those creatures away from the hospital." Ash raised an eyebrow about this. "Don't talk about them... speak of the devil, and he'll show up," An old lady remarked airily, "Of course, it looks like that has already happened with that freak with the fangs. I've never seen a creature like him." Ash growled as one of the doctors removed the bandages around his torso. "Hey! I'm not a freak! I…I don't know why I have massive fangs, but I'm not a creature! Those…those demons' outsides are the true things we should be worrying about. Not me!" Ash yelled in anger. Suddenly the doctor put a wet piece of towel against his back to soak up the blood. Ash winced in pain as a result. "No. They're not demons. They are god's creations gone mad. They hurt us because something hurt Xuchilbara. They wouldn't have brought Yoka to ruin if that 'mayor' of ours didn't enact his wrath. Now the city's doomed because of his short sided goals." A woman with dark brown hair said as she walked into the room. Iris looked at here with shock. "Hey! It's Claudia. The woman who help Tobias took you the Pokémon center when you were kidnapped." Iris said to Ash.

Ash turned towards the woman. She had brown eyes, white skin, and wore a long white dress. She looked very sad. Ash growled, although he didn't know why. Meanwhile, this confused everyone else. The woman notices the boy and squeaked. "Oh, thank goodness you're here. I thought I'd would never meet you again, but the gods have smiled upon us. I'm so glad you, your friends, and that... rat on your shoulders are here. (Coughs.) Please, make the guardian see the error of his way! He's clearly not thinking straight!" She pleaded, a bit uncomfortable with Pikachu. Ash growled louder as he remembered Edward. "Your gang where the ones who gave that mad man his powers! THIS IS ALL YOUR GUYS FAULT!" Ash yelled, his eyes glowing red. The woman was taken back and the other people were confused. Misty looked at his friend. He wasn't wrong. The 'cult' was the one to 'awake' Edward's powers. However, she was still frightened by the boy. The woman bowed. "I'm so sorry for causing you so much pain. The Order didn't mean to cause you so much pain. We just wanted you to be fully restored to your glory and help us find the empress. But you weren't ready, and we should've seen the signs. Now we are all paying for our mistakes, and I am so sorry. It's even worse because Rose is now captured thanks to that monster, and we have no idea where she is. For all I know, he might try to make her his wife." Claudia pleaded, very sad and regretful. Ash felt so conflicted. He wanted to be angry at Claudia since she's saying he was Edward, but she's technically an innocent to all of this and her 'sister' was taken by Edward. It hit him close.

Ash held his head. He didn't know what to do. Lisa soon continued, "Don't worry, Claudia. Ash and the others will save everyone, but for now you need to calm down. They're clearly not ready to try and talk to Edward." Lisa said. Claudia nodded and soon walked away. Ash winced as the doctor reapplied the bandages on him. Iris soon winched as Lisa put bandages on her leg. "We've managed to keep everyone alive so far, but this hospital's supplies are running pretty thin. I'd feel a lot better if we could everybody out of this crazy town." Lisa said. Ash soon noticed something odd about what she said. "Couldn't you use the ambulances?" He asked. The doctor treating his back sighed. "Not enough." A nearby doctor remarked. "Not for all these people. I'd send out someone to find a working bus or something, but... you know..." Lisa said. Misty sighed as she looked down. "Yeah." Misty said. Jessie was pacing up and down, not wounded enough to warrant treatment and not patient enough to wait. "Does anybody have any idea what the hell is going on outside?" Jessie asked. Suddenly the old woman glared at her. "Hell's broke loose! That's what's happening! First with those monsters, then with the walls changing back and forth from this world to that twisted bloody hell, and now with a monster being treated by our doctors!" The old woman said. Ash wanted to growl at her for calling him a monster, however, he soon remembered the times where he had to use the mirrors to change the world. A feeling of guilt soon came over him as he looked down. 'I guess that effected everyone and not just the sanitarium. Oh…how I wish there was another way for me to get all of that stuff without having to cause this much trouble for everyone.' Ash thought as Claudia frowned. "It's not hell! It's just... the guardian going mad. Once these heroes are healed, they can go out and make him see the error of his ways." Claudia said. Ash looked at her. "Why do you think Eddie's your guardian anyways?" Ash asked. He was still bugged by that. She looked at him. "Because… he's the only one who can do this to us." She explained. The gang looked around, everyone was on edge and nervous. "It's just a nightmare, just a dream, I'll wake up soon I'll wake up soon…" A person nearby said shakily. The people here were not paying attention to Claudia and Ash' group, they only seemed to be worrying about themselves. "A pandemic! Some sorta disease is…" Another doctor said.

"Who cares!? My brother got killed out there!" A girl yelled, very upset.

"Everybody QUIET! My baby is trying to sleep!" A woman yelled. Jessie sat down in frustration. "That wasn't very helpful." She said, miffed about everything. Ash sighed aloud. Now what? Ash soon got up and replaced his shirt now that the doctor had finished bandaging hm. Now that they'd finally reached the hospital, he had no clue what his next step should be. Should he go after Edward like Claudia wants? But where could he be and should he even go? Ash soon sighed. He felt so hollow inside. And just like that, Lisa finished up Iris's leg. "If you ask me, this town's cursed. Ever since the last town was here…" Lisa said. Misty's ears perked up. "Excuse me? What's this about another town?" She asked. Lisa sighed. "Before everything went crazy, I was looking through that USB drive… you know, the one from Ash's mouth. Turns out there were a lot messed up things that happened before this town. And then… I remembered being a tiny village that was here. It was called Silent Hill. I don't remember much, but it was a good town and I was helping this little girl named Alessa Gillespie. Have any of you heard it?" She said. She held her head as she tried to remember more. Ash's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped from shock as he remembered that he HAD heard of the town. What was even more scary was the fact that Silent Hill was the name of the dream town Darkrai trapped him in.

 _The empress… Alessa… Executioner… Xuchilbara…_

Dawn/Alessa was the empress of this town, and Eddie was the guardian. Ash whirled to face, eager to hear more. "Yeah, I've… I've been to there. I just don't remember much of it though. What else? What else did it say?" Ash asked. He wanted to tell her that it was part of a dream, but he felt that part wasn't too important. Lisa gulped. "Well… I only got that far when everything went crazy…" She said. Ash grabbed the nurse by the shirt and snarled. "Where is it? Where's your laptop? I need to see what was on there!" Ash yelled ferociously. Ash could feel himself losing control. "Ash, calm down!" Misty yelled. She took the excited Ash by the shoulder. "I have it here, but without electricity, I can't…" Lisa said, showing the group the powerless laptop. Suddenly a voice came up. "If you want…" Someone in the crowd of people volunteered, "You can use my Plusle for the current." In the man's hands was a Plusle. "Thank you!" Ash breathed. The boy hurriedly motioned to Lisa to bring out the drive and to the boy to bring his Plusle. "L-let's see it. Maybe we can figure out what's going on!" Ash yelled. The boy was excited. Finally, some sort of lead, an explanation! He could figure out this nightmare, his and Edward's connection to the town that drove them to give the monster powers, and maybe even the location of Pikachu and the others! Now, there was some cause for hope. Much-needed hope. Eventually, the Plusle, laptop and USB were all set up, with the group crowded around the computer screen. All were praying for some sort of explanation. With any luck, they'd get one. The file 'Historical Celebration of Yoka Village' was the one Lisa had been looking at earlier. That was the one that hopefully held the answers. With a click, the file opened up and everybody began reading.


	22. Chapter 21

ch. 21

 **(Hey guys, it's aura. Hope you like this next chapter.)**

" _Another late night for me. The nightmares have only been getting worse since the day I committed my sin against The Order. I wonder if Perlis is having the same problems. I don't know if he's a sinner too, but I personally hope so. The guy's a massive jerk and doesn't have the heart to run a whole town. Ugh. I can't concentrate very well on the election with the amount of sleep I'm getting, but I figure I might as well put my waking hours to good use. I'll need it. I don't know how much longer I have until Xuchilbara finds me and send me to hell for my sins. Anyways, I've had study in cultural anthropology and archaeology. I figured some sort of historical celebration would help the tourism problem, after all, we have a museum but it's been out of use for many, many years... if nothing else, this will give Yoka Village another good reason to attract vacationers. I've already encouraged the townspeople to bring any sort of historical document they found to the campaign headquarters. The Order was suspicious of this, but I was able to quell their fears. But the stuff I'm finding is not going to attract residents; it's going to drive them away! God, the founders should've taken a closer look at this place before they built a town here. This place does not have a good history. But, I have to record it if I want to save these poor unsuspecting people. Not only had the documents made me realize that this town is rotten to the core, but also that my friends and companions are insane. I'm sorry Rose. I love you so much, but I just don't believe in God anymore and I have to send this to the police. Our plans for Alessa and Xuchilbara are far worse than I first thought and we have gone too far. But maybe it doesn't matter now, Xuchilbara will eventually find me and will kill me and destroy my research so this town doesn't get poisoned by publicity. He really loves this town and doesn't want me to ruin it. Heh. Like he would be better, in fact, if he was mayor this place would be a lot worse. Anyways, I'm recording it here and so my research won't in vain. Well, the earliest record I could find said that this town was a sacred place. 'The place of the Silent Spirits'. Now that sounded good, and originally way back when, that was the town's slogan for getting tourists, sacred places are good for PR. Then there's the reports of epidemics, plagues, establishment as a prison colony to escape some 'dragon energy' thing that had destroyed the land long time ago... nothing that couldn't be glossed over. But things get very bizarre when a little village was erected called Silent Hill._

" _After the prison closed, Silent Hill became a place for peace and tranquility, people kept to themselves. It eventually became a tourist town and was pretty popular, beautiful spot. I found this nice pamphlet like letter that advertised the town. Oddly I also got a videotape of a couple on their vacation, yet... how is this possible? Back then, there WERE no video tapes to record, so how does this video even exist? Ugh. I'm still confused by it. But back to the recording. A couple of boating accidents poisoned the reputation of the lake, but other than that, nothing seemed to be amiss. However, none of the tourists knew that under this smiling town was The Order and their drug trafficking. And then everything went to hell. From what I've found out, it all began with our Order and a girl named Alessa. Alessa Gillespie was the daughter of one of the order's priestesses, Dahlia. From an early age, she showed supernatural capabilities -telekinesis, astral projection, some sort of telepathy... and apparently, the ability to kill someone just by wishing for it. I don't wanna know how she found out about that. Anyway, Dahlia got the idea that Alessa was_ _Lobsel Vith, the bringer of god, and she would be_ perfect _to - get this - BIRTH God, thereby ushering in paradise. When I first heard about the rebirth of god, I thought Lobsel Vith was an adult angel, NOT a little human girl. But… it wasn't_ _a normal birth, Alessa was forced through a ritual of sorts so that would implant god in her._ _However, this god was born from hatred and agony. With a recipe like that, I wonder what kind of 'god' they had created._

 _"Whatever this 'god' was, Alessa's powers got supercharged. The Order had to seal her mind away so she couldn't use her powers against them. But then a man appeared and saved her body. Somehow Alessa was able to her powers thanks to the man, covering the town in a thick fog for several days. I remember the reports of strange monsters attacking the town, but I thought the incident way back then was caused by rogue Pokémon. However, the descriptions from the people who survived don't match anything on record. Faceless children with knives, starving hairless dogs that had their necks hinge in disturbing ways, flying beasts that shrieked and were as big as a grown man, colossal mutated insects, and more. I've seen some of these in my nightmares, and I can safely state these are not the Pokémon my Order despise. These are monsters. One of the Oder members that was still in the town, some sort of psychiatrist, claimed that these creatures were physical manifestations of Alessa's nightmares and twisted memories. One of the examples he gave was the origin of 'the grey children', small faceless demons carrying knives. Wrote that they were representative of the bullies Alessa faced in school. Man, she must've had some wealth if she could go to a school back then. Anyways, there were flying monsters as well, apparently based off her favorite fairy tales. However… he also said that other monsters made by the man's mind since it was impossible for Alessa to imagine up these monsters. To be honest, I don't know if that's true or not since none of the articles really talk about the man other than he interfered with the Order's plans. The official records get strange after that... some say Alessa died, others say she lives on in a new body with a new family, some say both in the same paragraph. Even my fellow members didn't know what to really say about it. Whatever the case, the town was officially cursed. Quarantined under the presence of a plague, most people staying away simply because of the rumors. I wonder if Kal heard those rumors at some point._

" _Anyways, Silent Hill bred fear and madness even without it's 'Empress'. One of the strangest incidents I've heard about happened after Alessa's 'death'. A man named James Sunderland, apparently an ancestor to our own James Sunderland that runs the butcher's shop, came here looking for his wife. His wife, Mary, was dead. He had killed her - a mercy kill, I've read. Wife was suffering from an incurable disease. Not certain I agree, but it's presumptuous to judge without experiencing it myself. However, that's not important, James was guilty about the incident, even though apparently he was never charged for the crime. From what I've read, he wanted to be punished for his sins. So when he came back to the town, it took the form of some sort of purgatory, where he could be punished for his sins. The creatures took of his guilt of sins - faceless nurses representing the hospitalization, four-legged mannequin monsters symbolizing his libido. Then the article mentions a creature only referred to as 'Pyramid Head' and how it was James' judge. From the description from the author, I couldn't help but wonder if this Pyramid Head was just a man in a helmet. Most of what I've read is just speculation, but Pyramid Head seems to be based on the town's executioners, with the helmet and the huge blade. I even read a document from a cult member that said this helmeted man was actually the incarnation of Silent Hill's lesser 'gods', Xuchilbara, the god of Punishment and justice._ _Whatever the case, the article states that 'this incarnation was made to punish him for his sins'. How it did it was a little unorthodox, but very effective. Creating an idealized version of his wife for James to befriend and protect, Pyramid Head proceeded to kill her, several times, right in front of James' eyes. After James felt he had suffered enough and got over his guilt, Pyramid Head killed himself. But did he? The article I've been using for this section says that this version was done for, but it will come back for the next victim that needed him. There were also articles from the site under the stadium that also says the creature was immortal. I'd hate to think that monster is still around town._

 _"Of course, Eddie could be another version of this monster that Xuchilbara made. He fits the role especially well. But does that mean the boy will become this monster too? I do not know, but I hope I am wrong. But speaking of Edward, it turns out Edward was once human back in the late 1800s. At first, Edward was just known as 'the Executioner'; a simple murderer who killed the Board of Governors. At first, people questioned a man named Henry Jekyll about the murders, since apparently he worked at the place but he knew nothing about them. Then the truth was revealed after Edward killed Sir Danvers, and thus his name and face was finally shown to the town. Oddly, he didn't look like what he is now. Back then he kind of looked like the boy. Was Hyde related to the Ketchum line? Ugh. Honestly, I don't know, nor do I know why Edward was so angry at me when I said London was where he came from when I called him out on being a monster, after all it's not a real place. Anyways, Edward soon went into hiding with Henry apologizing to everyone for housing that monster. However, Edward did not disappear forever. After a few months, he kidnapped Dr. Jekyll and was found dead at the man's desk. No one knows whatever happened to Henry, but I suspect the monster killed him and hid his body somewhere. But… I guess that doesn't matter now, Hyde is back and has become a part of Xuchilbara. I don't know how but the monster is haunting me and will destroy everything if we don't stop him. I just feel bad for that poor boy though. He has no idea what he was carrying. Anyways, there's more of this kind of stuff... a serial killer named Walter Sullivan being raised here, ghosts of a boating accident tormenting a group of college kids, a convict being pursued here, etc. All in the early to late 1800's._

" _However, when the 1930s rolled in, the entire town was destroyed in a huge fire, leaving nothing standing. Thankfully a lot of members were able to escape and relocate to other areas. And so eventually everybody, even the Order, just forgot about the town, the records began collecting dust and the old 'Yoka Village' basically stopped existing... until Yoka and our Order member founders came across this land and decided it would be good to rebuild the town. At first things went smoothly, we had regained our wealth and power and it seemed everything had returned to normal…that is until a few years ago when something terrible happened. I don't know what happened, but… all of the remaining founders disappeared for three days. Nobody knew what exactly happened, but I've found writing scattered around the town on red clip boards. I've studied them and it seems to convey what happened to the town. A_ _father and daughter got into a car accident and the man lost her in this 'other world'. However, what frightened me was the fact that the man knew about Alessa and our former high priestess Delilah Gillespie, Rose's grandmother. The articles then talk about our God and much of the fears I've been having about it. It also talks about his trek through the other world and meeting a police officer named Cybil Bennet. The reports end with the man going to confront Delilah and our god. I do not know what happened next, but it caused the fog to end and the officers found our members dead. However, what interests me the most is the fact that the police had to deal with a family who somehow got trapped in the other world. Who this family was is unclear since the names are all scratched out. But apparently their son went mad when he was in the 'other world'. I don't know how that is possible, but some speculate Alessa's powers did this. Whether they are right or not nor what happened to Alessa or the father. For all I know, they could be dead._

" _But alas here we are now. The surviving Order members had spread across the land, some going to Sinnoh, some going to Kanto, some going to this place called 'Kalos', and some still in Unova, spreading what was left of they're way. I haven't heard of any big news from them, so I guess they're dying off. It's fascinating stuff, a gripping story to say the least. But it defiantly won't help tourism in Yoka Village. The only way this info can help is if I write what I think the group's current plan is. I think they're trying to turn that boy, Ash Ketchum, into Xuchilbara. Rose says that he has the same soul as the god, but I have no idea if that's true. For all they know, the boy is just a regular kid and they're trying to mutate his soul into something it isn't. I've also heard Eddie will be tested on, so I hope he gets burned horribly instead of gaining powers. That guy is as nutty as the cult, he doesn't need the same power boost as Alessa… although now I'm starting to wonder if this town should be evacuated. Then again, what do I have? Speculation, documents that might've been forged for shock value, and lots of nightmares. Even the Order stuff I have, it can't help me. I suppose I'll deal with it tomorrow."_ The article said.

Ash sat down heavily on a desk in the basement, away from everybody. He needed some time to think. Markham's information answered a lot of questions and confirmed plenty of suspicions. The cult was behind this mess in a way. This was all their plan and they had made Pyramid Head. Eddie and he were just their victims... but... the nightmare town he saw in his dreams raised questions in his time. That was obviously made before he knew all of this, so... what was that all about? Could Pyramid Head warp dimensions like Palkia and bring something from another world? He shivered. How long was their spell thing been warping his mind? Was it when that Darkrai gave him those nightmares? Ash clench his fists in rage. And what about Dawn? She was a dead ringer for Alessa based off that painting so did she have the same powers. Is she in danger too? She did have the dreams of a monster? If she activates that power, would the same monsters from back then would appear in front of her, or would they be different since Dawn's life was so different from Alessa's? Ash growled in frustration. He was so confused. And all of this because of the Order. He looked at Claudia, ready to ripe her neck out, but he resisted it. He didn't know how involved she was with this, and he didn't care right now. All that matter was that he was still feeling badly... But then he remembered his father. As informative as Markham's notes had been, they didn't give any clues to the location of Henry, his friends or Edward. It was all just ancient history, no places to go, no leads to follow. Ash sighed heavily. Once again, he had struck a dead end. He was so sick of hitting dead ends! He wanted this to be over. He wanted to rescue Henry, Tracy, Pikachu and the others. Hell, he wanted to rescue everyone from this psychotic town! But what could he do? Where could he go? Why- _BRRRRIRIRIIIING!_ The shock of the sudden noise made Ash fall off the desk with a shriek. The boy landed on his bandaged back, much to his discomfort. _BRRRRIRIRIRIRIIIING!_ Ash got up to his feet and looked around the small room, trying to find the origin of the ringing phone. _BRRRRIRIRIRIRIRIRRIIIING!_ He quickly found it. Tucked away in a nearby locker was some sort of red phone, likely used by the hospital to respond to emergency calls. The small thing kept ringing loud enough to force Ash to cover his ears. _BRRRRIRIRIRIRIRIRRIRIIIIIING!_

Ash ripped the phone away from its holding place. "Hello?" Ash asked. A powerful, threatening voice responded, _**"The evil king, using guile and trickery, tried to take the empress' crown from her."**_ It was the same voice from the radio. Ash blinked in confusion. "What?" Ash snapped. However, the voice ignored him and continued telling its story. _**"The evil king intended to use the empress's crown to take over the world, however he did not know where she was. In a desperate act, the king captured the beast to make him reveal where she was, however the beast refused to talk. The evil king attacked the beast, but the beast would not tell. The evil king decided that if the beast wouldn't tell him then he would use the beast instead. With the use of a fooled priestess and the boy, the beast was under the control of the evil king, and as a result, the beast killed one of the king's enemies. However, the duke wanted the beast to fully be the executioner, so he sent his creature of nightmares into the beast's mind. Unfortunately for the creature, the boy's smarter side saved the beast and broke the him free of the king's control. They then drove off the creature. However, the beast was too damaged to think, so he went on a rampage. The boy, unknowingly, took the guardian's mantel as Executioner while the beast recovered from the rampage. The boy, however, hated and feared his true form, so he created a body to use as a dummy. The smarter side of the boy took this opportunity to use that body to try and write what had gone wrong.**_ _ **Unfortunately, the boy would not let that happen. The boy then foolishly tried to defeat his smarter self even though he could do nothing to his superior side.**_

 _ **"Meanwhile, the people of the town tried to make the beast back into the executioner. He attacked them and killed them in blind rage. It wasn't too long before the superior side found him again, but the beast's mind was too deluded in its own anger to remember that it was the town's guardian. In that instant, the smarter side decided to awaken the crown jewel. He knew the boy was not ready to become the executioner. It was clear that they were NOT ready. Not now. Unfortunately, the beast would not listen so the executioner consumed the creature's soul. However, to the executioner's surprise, the beast would not let him simply take over and so he kept fighting. But that didn't matter to the Executioner. He had to save the boy. And so, the Executioner came up with a plan."**_ The voice finished. Ash glared at the phone. "Is this a joke?" Ash suddenly noticed something that made him gasp. The phone wasn't connected... to anything. The voice on the other end of the line was silent for a second, but soon spoked, _**"Oh no, boy. This is no joke. It never was."**_ Ash shook off his fear, and tried to sound strong. "I should just hang up now, you creep!" Ash argued. The voice chuckled. _**"You certain you want to do that, boy? What would you accomplish? Nothing is to be gained from floundering about at random. Your... father and friends agree on that."**_ It said. Ash's eyes shrank once he heard that line. "WHAT? If you know where they are, tell me, dammit!" Ash shouted into the phone. The voice chuckled. _**"I cannot tell you that. Not yet. There are things you must know, things you must see, things you must do before you're allowed to leave. Don't you want to learn the truth?"**_ It replied.

"STOP IT! Just tell ME!" Ash yelled, unclenched his teeth with some effort, "Wait, why should I listen to you... whoever you are? Who are you? A-are…are you Edward!?" Ash yelled. The voice laughed, a noise that sent a winter's worth of ice down Ash's back. _**"No boy, I am not Edward. I never was. I am better than him in every way and had hoped you would recognize me. But perhaps it would be better if you called me the Executioner. That way you won't mistake me for him. However, I think you will understand this a lot better if you hear it from HER."**_ The voice said. Ash blinked. "Her?" Ash asked. The voice chuckled. _**"The empress of Silent Hill, of course. I could tell you where she is. Do you want to know?"**_ It asked. Ash froze. Dawn's here? But… but that doesn't make any sense? "Wh-what you talking about? Dawn's not here? I-Is she?" Ash asked, so confused. The voice chuckled again. _ **"Oh she's here."**_ He said. Ash gulped. Bold, reckless Ash suddenly found his throat dry, unable to speak. All he could do was numbly nod. _**"Good boy. Now listen carefully..."**_ The voice began to say.

…

Misty sighed in relief as the doctor finished up bandaging her leg. Her leg was now properly bandaged, although the doctor had remarked on how she was very lucky it hadn't been infected. Cilan had winced at that, interpreting it as an insult to his bandage job. But right now, Misty didn't care about who was better at applying first aid. However, her mind soon wandered over to Ash. He had walked into a secluded part of the hospital basement, and the ways things were going, Misty didn't want to lose sight of her friend. Misty got up and steadily limped in the direction she had seen Ash go, walking past babbling patients and their fearful Pokémon. They didn't notice her go past, too shell-shocked to notice anything at all. A few were clutching their hands and whimpering to their mothers. Others had their eyes shut tight, hopefully asleep. Many were staring out into space with horrified expressions, images of the creatures burned into their visions. Slowly but steadily Misty made her way to the office Ash had locked himself into after reading Yoka Village's past. The document Markham had made had answered a lot of questions, but everyone felt they weren't the ones Ash needed. Or Iris, or herself, or anyone for that matter... She felt so sorry for Tracy, she brought him here as a way for them to enjoy a week together and now he was trapped somewhere, scared and in the clutches of Edward. Misty distinctly heard Ash talking to someone in the room. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could tell he was rather excited and scared at the same time. He stopped talking suddenly. The girl was about to knock when the door suddenly burst open. Ash nearly ran into Misty before catching himself in time. The girl nearly toppled backward from the surprise, but managed to straighten herself quickly. "Misty?" Ash asked. He was totally surprised to see her. This confused Misty. "Ash, what's the hurry?" Misty asked. Ash looked very nervous, eyes darting about everywhere. "Um... um... I need to use the washroom." Ash said. He quickly moved down one of the corridors. "Ash, it's that way." Misty said and pointed in the opposite direction that he was going down. She saw Lisa show one of the boys the way when they asked for directions to the bathroom. Ash nervously chuckled. "Oh, right. Heh-heh." The boy bashfully turned around and started walking the other way. His eyes kept moving to Misty, as if waiting for her to turn around.

Misty eyed her friend with some suspicion. "Ash, what's going on?" She asked as she followed him. Ash noticed this and became scared. "N-nothing." Ash replied quickly. Misty quickly frowned at this. "You're lying." She rebutted. Ash stopped and turned towards her. "No I'm not!" He yelled. Misty quickly stopped herself and smirked. "Oh really?" She coyly said. Ash nodded his head. "Yeah..." He simply replied. Misty smirked. "Okay then who were you talking to?" She asked. Ash froze up at that question. "Nuh-nobody..." He replied, stuttering. Misty glanced into the room Ash had been in and saw a discarded telephone on the floor. She then growled and glared at Ash. "Ash, stop it. This isn't the time for secrets, what's going on?" She asked. Ash shivered slightly. He couldn't lie to his friend. "It's... it's just..." He babbled, backing away and trying to escape. Misty cut him off angrily, "Just WHAT? Ash, tell me what is going on right now or I'll-" However, Ash couldn't take it anymore. "Dawn's been capture!" Ash gasped out. Misty blinked. "Dawn?" Misty asked, not knowing the person. He looked down. "S-she was my traveling buddy in Sinnoh. We were best friends, b-but Pyramid Head has her here. Some… some guy told me where she is though. If I go to her, then maybe I'll find the others." Ash explained. Misty's eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped numbly. "The guy on the phone... he's the same guy from the radio... gave me an address..." Ash said. Misty growled at Ash. "And you were gonna sneak off? You were actually going to leave us in here while you go out into the monster-infested streets to find our friends who are being held by that Knife-wielding reality wrapper who can kill you with one blow with his knife?" Misty yelled. Ash had no answer, and hung his head down in shame.

"Unbelievable. You _are_ insane. What'll happen to us if you die? What about your mother, Brock, Max and May? Have you thought about them? Are you just willing to let yourself die? We've barely survived the last few days, we've finally in something resembling a safe place, and now you want to go back out? What do you think you can do?" Misty yelled. Ash looked Misty straight in the eye. "I don't know Misty. I guess I figured maybe I could actually confront the person responsible instead of just sitting here, hiding in the basement, waiting for food and supplies to run out because we're too afraid to go out and look for an escape or a solution or SOMETHING!" Ash snapped, "Do you have any better ideas? Because believe me, I'd love to stay here where it's safe and..." However, he was soon cutted off by a voice. "No. You're not sitting here." The voice said. Misty and Ash turned to the sound of the new voice. Iris had escaped her doctor's eye and had limped into the conversation with Jessie following her and Cilan. Cilan was trying to hold her back. The growling girl pointed at Ash, her finger quivering with pure anger. "You got us into this. You are going out there, and if you come without Axew, I'll kill you myself, GOT IT?" Iris yelled. Ash and Misty were surprised how angry she was. Ash knew she could go a bit insane if Axew was in danger, but he never expected death threats. "Iris..." Misty said. Ash nodded since he still understood what she meant. "I got it." Ash answered her. Iris growled. "Good!" Iris snapped, finally allowing Cilan to drag her back to her bed for some much-needed rest. Nobody moved or spoke for a minute. Jessie and Misty looked at Ash, waiting to see what he would do. Would he really go back into the monster-infested streets? To meet with the deadly butcher who could kill him then and there? To save his friends and father? Ash took a deep breath and began walking to the stairs. "Ohhhhhh no." Misty stopped him. Ash was taken aback by this. "What? Misty, I gotta..." Ash said. Misty smirked. "I know. You're just not going alone." She said. Ash blinked. She was still following him? He couldn't believe that she would risk her life to help him. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised. This was hardly the first time she had followed him into a dangerous situation. "Thanks Misty..." Ash managed to say, "You're the best." Misty just shrugged in response, smiling slightly. Jessie suddenly pushed past both of them. "I'll drive," She said in her usual forceful, commanding tone. Ash was about to protest, but a look from Misty told him not to argue. The boy sighed, and joined the two women leaving the hospital. With any luck, he would return with Pikachu, Axew, Henry, Tracy, Dawn and James. He prayed.


	23. Chapter 22

ch. 22

 **(Sorry this took so long. I had hoped I would finish this series before Halloween hit, but then homework hit me. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish this before the year ends. Also, I promise to continue on my other stories. Sorry it takes so long.)**

"Man, it has gotten quiet all of a sudden." Jessie remarked, glancing out the window of the ambulance, "I hate it." Ash had to agree. The streets of Yoka Village were almost empty; nothing but a few wrecked cars and the occasional prowling creature, growling hoarsely at them but never chasing them. It was as if they didn't care anymore. Ash shared that sentiment. He sighed. Was Edward not even trying now? Misty drummed her fingers against the ambulance chair impatiently. Soon, they would confront the man directly responsible for this. With any luck, they would find their captured friends and family, find some means of escape and get everyone out of this hellhole. When they arrived, of course. "Can't you go any faster, Jessie?" Misty asked. Jessie frowned. "Yeah, and run into a building or something in this fog? I'd like to rescue my partner while I'm still in one piece, thank you." Jessie snapped back before returning her attention to the road ahead. Ash glanced at the written directions the voice on the phone had given him. "Turn left at Bachmann Road. Then keep going straight until you hit the woods. The emp... Dawn's location should be the first building you see in the forest." He recited. Jessie smiled. "Okay, keep your eyes open. I wish this fog would let up a little more, I can barely see the road signs." Jessie replied simply. There was a silence for a few minutes, Ash and Jessie watching for the sign to Bachmann road. "Hey, Jessie?" Ash asked.

"What?" The woman replied in a sullen tone. Ash looked down. "I'm sorry for being angry at you...and... And thanks for driving us." Ash said. Jessie smiled. "Don't mention it," Jessie said as she glanced up at the right moment, "Bachmann road. Alright, we're on the right way." She soon turned. Ash sighed as he looked out the car windows again. He still felt strange inside. 'Henry Jekyll,' Ash thought, the name oddly never escaping his mind. 'But… why does that name sound so familiar? I... I feel like I knew it before. Does it have to do with Satoshi?' Ash sighed. He was sure this Henry fellow had nothing to do with his dad, but he still had that strange feeling. That there was more to this. He was supposed to be figuring out some sort of mystery, but he just couldn't figure it out. Ash closed his eyes. 'Just ignore it. You know who Edward is now, and you're going to stop him. There's nothing more to this.' Ash told himself. Ash opened his eyes and saw they were now entering the woods.

Driving through the woods towards the secluded house, everyone in the vehicle felt a sense of impending danger. It wasn't just the fact that they were coming to the home of likely the most dangerous adversary they had ever encountered. They couldn't hear any normal sounds of the forest; there were no birds singing, or even the rustle of the wind. Every so often there would be an audible crash or growl... the monsters were in the woods. Ash dreaded to think that they would escape the town and go out into the world. Worse, the creatures hiding in the woods seemed to be keeping pace with the ambulance. Were they being followed? Or worse, were the creatures going to meet them there? Ash saw the house first. If it had been any other situation, the house would've been quite nice. A large cabin in the woods; built for someone who wanted privacy and a nice view of the town. It was at least three stories high, and likely held a full kitchen and living room. Ash figured it was a Yoka Village vacation home. But now, it looked intimidating. The windows seemed to be glaring down at the puny mortals who thought they could face the empress of Yoka Village. Several Shuppets were hovering around the building, feeding off the navigate vibes of the house and its occupants. Ash hoped Dawn was okay. The paint had been ruined by the thick fog, peeling off in several places. What hadn't been dampened had been torn by angry claws. Just like the hospital, multiple corpses of the monsters were lying around the building, ruining the appearance of a once picturesque lawn. Misty was a little puzzled. It looked as though the creatures had been attacking the building... one of the cat-creatures still had its claws embedded in the wall. But why would he make the monsters attack this place if he was in there? Then again the monsters distracted Pyramid Head when they were escaping so who knew what was going on with the monster. Maybe Eddie hates Pyramid Head and was using the monsters to attack that side.

"You stay in the car," Ash told Jessie as he and Misty began walking up to the home, "If things go bad, we'll need a quick getaway." Jessie smirked as she relaxed in the van. "Alright then, whatever you say, sir. Chauffer Jessie will be waiting to pick up you and your date," Jessie tried to add as much sarcasm to her voice as she could, but the truth was she was very glad she didn't have to go inside. Misty turned to Ash. "You don't think she'll drive off?" She asked. Ash however just looked ahead. "Not without knowing where James is," Ash said as he smiled widely. Jessie sighed. "Yeah..." Jessie sighed, hoping the children didn't hear that.

Back with Ash and Misty, Ash started up the walkway to the front door, or what was left of it. It had been torn off its hinges and thrown aside, smashed to splinters on the lawn. There was an inky blackness through the doorway. Not the most encouraging sight. Music was emanating from the house. A beautiful piano piece. Someone was home. A voice quietly singing confirmed it. It was a woman's voice. It eerily soft and seemingly soothing. Suddenly there was banging drums and sweeping violin. After a few seconds, the song toned down. _"The child without a name grew up to be the hand. To watch you, to shield you or kill on demand~. The choice he made he could not comprehend. He's got a grand secret, they had to command~. He's torn between his honor and the child of all his life. He'd break the bond but was divide~. SO MANY DREAMS WERE BROKEN AND SO MUCH WAS SACRIFICED~! WAS WORTH THE ONES WE LOVED AND HAD TO LEAVE BEHIND~!? SO MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED A WORD AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY~!? Will all our sense be justified?"_ The female voice sang, the music becoming louder before quieting down at the end. Ash was confused. Ash turned to Misty with a nervous look on his face. Her face was just as scared, if not even more so. They almost didn't go forward. But the thought of what was at stake spurred them on. Taking a deep breath and clenching each other's hands, they stepped through the threshold. Light filtered in from the windows and several holes in the walls.

The room just past the front door was small, with little more than a closet for guests to hang their coats in. Another door battered but still on its hinges, led into the rest of the house. It seemed that they would have to work up the courage to go through another ominous doorway. _"The curse of his powers tormented his life. Obeying the crown was a sinister price~. His soul was tortured by love and by pain. Surely one thing about it only made him stay~. He's torn between his honor and the child of all his life. He'd break the bond but was divide~. SO MANY DREAMS WERE BROKEN AND SO MUCH WAS SACRIFICED~! WAS WORTH THE ONES WE LOVED AND HAD TO LEAVE BEHIND~!? SO MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED A WORD AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY~!? Will all our sense be justified?"_ Taking a deep breath, Ash opened the second door... Right to a sight that made Misty shriek. What used to be a well-furnished living room was now crawling with insects. There were hundreds of them, from spiders to millipedes to ants and even a few butterflies. Multiple broken terrariums explained their presence in the house, and the corpse of a scythe shark monster explained how they got loose. That corpse was literally being devoured by some of the larger insects with fangs. _"Please forgive me for the sorrow. For leaving you in fear. For the dreams, we had to silence. That's all they'll ever be. Still, I'll be there, here to save you. Now you will NOT SEE THAT IT IS ME~!"_ The woman sang. The music began swelling loudly.

Almost immediately, Misty ducked into the closet, babbling hysterically, "Bugs... There just HAD to be BUGS in there!" Ash groaned. All that had happened, she was terrified of a bug collection? "Misty, this isn't the time for this! We gotta get through that..." Ash said. However, he soon noticed the terrified look on her face. "I-I-I-I can't! Did you see some of those things? Some of them were bigger than my foot!" Misty babbled. Ash sighed. "Misty, close your eyes. I'll get you through." Ash said. Misty closed her eyes in pain. "No... no, I'll drag you back. Just go, just go!" She yelled. Ash blinked in shock. "What? Are you kidding? You followed me here and now you're asking me to -" Ash said. However, before he could finish, Misty yelled, "Just GO! I'll be fine..." Misty sighed into her hand, "I... I'm sorry. You need to go to her. Just go, don't worry about me. You'll be ok. I'll be okay." Ash looked at her with confusion and sadness. "Misty..." Ash sighed in resignation, and braced himself to brace Dawn alone, "If you hear me scream 'Run', run. Don't look back." Misty reached out her hand. "But Ash..." Misty protested. Ash shook his head. "Just... just stay there until you hear from me," Ash said. Misty retracted her hand and looked down. "Ok." Misty gulped. Ash had just turned back to the doorway when Misty made a noise. "Ash?" Misty asked. Ash stopped. "What?" He asked. Misty then smiled. "Good luck." She said. Ash smiled that smile of his, for the first time in a long time. "Thanks." After Ash had walked out of the closet, Misty shut the door for safety. Taking an even breath than before, Ash stepped into the insect-infested living room. However, the orchestra was getting louder as Ash entered the center of the room. _"So many, so many. SO MANY, SO MANY. SO MANY DREAMS WERE BROKEN AND SO MUCH WAS SACRIFICED~! WAS WORTH THE ONES WE LOVED AND HAD TO LEAVE BEHIND~!? SO MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED A WORD AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY!? Will all our sense be justified?"_ The woman sang. The orchestra swelled before becoming quieter and then fading away into nothing. Ash looked up. The music had been coming from the next floor up. Ash could see a staircase that would take him to the woman and possibly the others. Ash gulped. What was going on? Why was this woman singing? What on earth was she singing about and who is she? The chittering creatures never acknowledge his entrance. They were too busy feasting on the dead monster on the floor. It seemed like a lot of meat. Something bothered Ash, though. That thing was huge... it would've been impossible for these insects to topple it. Not to mention the creatures outside... What was killing them?

Ash promptly had the question answered as several of the faceless nurses suddenly jumped from the ceiling, carrying knives, syringes, guns, and katanas, twitching madly as they came closer. Ash was quickly regretting coming here and was about to yell at Misty to run... When someone smashed their fists onto the piano keys, creating a very jarring not that made cringe, the insects scatter and the nurses stop in their tracks. "LET HIM IN!" The woman bellowed. At her command, the nurses cleared Ash's path to the staircase. Several of them leaped up to the ceiling, disappearing into the darkness. Others just stood still, weapons at the ready, watching for Ash's next move. Ash didn't move for a few seconds in confusion, thinking his next step could very well be his last. However, the creatures remained still. Ash relaxed and walked towards the stairs. He knew something was off. The man on the phone did not talk about a woman controlling him or a woman being here. All he said that Dawn was here and this was clearly not Dawn. Ash held his head as he stopped in front of the stairs. His head was buzzing pain. He didn't know what was going anymore. Suddenly he heard the voice in his head chuckle. ' **What's the matter, boy? Scared? Do you not believe in yourself to save them?** Wh-what? NO! I… I can save them. I'm… I'm just confused. **Hehehe. Then go upstairs and meet her. Meet our empress.** ' The voice said. Ash growled and focused his vision. He was going to show the voice who was the boss. He was going to save Dawn and the others from this nightmare. However, before he could make another move, the voice spoke up. "Guard...Ash... It's an honor to meet you again. I wish we had not met like this, but I see that nothing I did helped you." The woman remarked from upstairs before starting her piano again.

"Wh-who are you?" Ash asked. He hadn't noticed it until now, but there was a heavenly glow at the top of the stairs. Ash slowly stepped forward. Images of Henry, Tracy, Axew and Pikachu flashed through his head at every step. His mind was racing and all he knew was flipped upside down. And if he needed to talk to this woman to make things right again, then that was what he had to do. "I am the empress of Silent Hill." The woman coldly said as if she detested that title. Ash became confused. He knew that this wasn't Dawn's voice, but who else could be the empress? Alessa? Maybe. The faceless nurses 'watching' his every step, Ash slowly walked up to confront the empress. Ash glanced at the paintings on the wall as he made his way to the floor where Dawn was waiting. He recognized a few of them… 'The Remains of Judgement' and the picture of the woman with the baby, both copies of the paintings from the antique shop. The rest were oddly familiar; a weathered photograph of a toy soldier facing a spider, several childish doodles of horrific monstrosities, and a sepia picture of a steamboat on Silent Hill's lake. He felt he had seen them before. Every step Ash took up the staircase was slow and tense. Pyramid Head was close, he had to be. Why else would Dawn be here? Every time the thought of a hasty retreat crossed his mind, he dispelled it and thought of Pikachu, Tracy, Dawn Axew, and Henry reminded him to keep going. So, shaking his confusion away, Ash took another step up the stairs. Eventually, he reached the top of the stairs and, to his shock, there was a long hallway separating him from the empress. At the end of the hallway, there was the light he had seen earlier, however, it was much brighter than before. 'It looks like she's waiting for me… but…' Ash looked at the other doors in the hallway, of which there were four of them. 'These doors. I feel like they're calling me.' Ash thought. Ash sighed as he stepped forward. He had to keep going. He had not the time to stop and look at these doors. However, he soon stopped at the first door, which was to his left. He looked at the door which had a strange symbol on it. It was a large bird creature that was shaped like a 'y'. Ash held his head. **'Maybe everyone else is in there. Wouldn't hurt to check.'** The voice egged him on. Ash wasn't sure why the voice wasn't yelling at him or calling him names now, but it did have a point. The woman could wait. Ash sighed and soon entered the first door.

He entered and saw the room was a direct replica of his living room back home. Ash became confused. Why was this here? Suddenly the area became purple, however, instead of himself turning into a little kid again, Ash saw himself at the table, crying. Suddenly Delia entered the room with a piece of cake. _"Ash, you should eat something. You haven't had a thing to eat since we've returned. I… I know it hurts seeing grandpa get locked away, but you shouldn't beat yourself over it. It was his choice to do that. B-besides he almost killed you,"_ Delia said, trying to reassure him. Ash sniffled as he looked at her. _"B-but grandpa w-wouldn't have done it if… if I hadn't attacked you. If… If the monster hadn't taken control. I… I just want him to stop."_ Young Ash said, confusing the older version of himself. Delia sighed, put the cake on the table, and then hugged Ash. _"Ash, there is no monster inside of you. What happened was a freak event. It won't happen again. Now eat please."_ Delia said. Ash sniffed as he looked at the cake. _"O-okay."_ Young Ash said. Suddenly the scene ended and on the table was a yellow tile. Ash became confused. 'Wait… Edward appeared to me while I was at home?' Ash thought in confusion. He soon walked over to the tile and saw it had the picture of a Magikarp on it. Ash picked it up and put it in his backpack, which he grabbed a spare when he left the hospital. 'Well, I'm glad I grabbed this, otherwise, I couldn't hold this.' Ash said to himself. Ash smiled and soon exit into the hallway. He looked at the other doors. 'Okay, if that showed a memory, then these ones should also do so too. But…why? Maybe the answers will be revealed soon.' Ash thought to himself.

"Is something wrong, Ash?" The woman's voice asked. Ash soon realized this woman had been waiting for him. "W-what!? No. I'm… I'm just taking my time, that's all." Ash lied. He didn't like lying but he felt there were other things in the other doors. "Okay. I'll be waiting for you." The voice said. Ash nodded and soon went into the next door. This room was almost pitch black with hardly anything to seen. There were a table and chairs in the middle of the room and the only lighting came from a lantern. Ash pulled out his flashlight to help illuminate the room, but before he could turn it on, the room glowed purple. Inside the door, he saw his younger self in an interrogation room. _"Can't you see he's been through a lot?"_ The ghostly image of his mother told the ghostly policeman as she hugged the little boy, _"Your questions are upsetting him."_ Young Ash was shaking in his mother's arms. He looked very scared. The officer lowered his head. _"I apologize profusely… we're not trying to scare him, but we need to know what happened,"_ The man said reassuringly. Delia sighed as she looked away. _"You need to give him time,"_ Delia said, _"This has been a tough time… for both of us."_ The officer nodded. _"We understand, and you have our condolences, but we need to know the details. Once we do, we can bring this whole affair to an end quickly and send that …monster to jail. Hopefully, this will be the last time we will meet again,"_ The officer said. The images faded from the room once more, leaving behind a red tile on the interrogation table. Ash became confused. What reason would he have to be in an interrogation room again? He at first thought it was about when his grandfather gassed him, but something was off. Especially since they said he had been here before. Ash soon examined the tile, seeing that it had the picture of a Pidgey this time. He quickly placed it inside of his bag before exiting this room as well. "Is something wrong, Ash? Are you that much in fear to face me?" The woman asked. Ash looked at the door leading to the empress. "No. I…I was just a little lost. I'll...I'll find you soon enough." Ash fibbed. Hopefully, this would buy him enough time to see all of the memories. "Alright. I just hope you come soon. I do not know how much longer your friends will last." The voice said. Ash gulped. He really hoped these memories were worth risking his friend's safety.

The boy carefully walked to the next door, opening it and stepping inside. This time it was a hotel bedroom. Two beds filled the room with shelves and a TV near the wall. There was a painted door next to one of the beds. " _Ash, you need to get some sleep… It's getting late."_ The ghostly image of his mother said as she tried to comfort the young boy, _"I know you're having a hard time… but I'm here… you know I won't let anything happen to you."_ Young Ash began to sob into Delia's nightgown. _"I… I hate this place. I wish it would just burn down. If…If it didn't exist th-that monster wouldn't have found me…and…and I wouldn't have freaked out in front of grandpa,"_ The young boy cried. Delia nodded as the two of them embraced. After a few seconds, the images faded once more. On the bed sat a green tile with the picture of an Arbok on it. Ash whipped a tear that had begun to form at the edge of his eye. He didn't know what was going on now. This clearly wasn't connected to his grandfather, so what happened? Ash carefully placed the red tile in his bag before exiting the room. "Ash, please, you need to hurry up." The woman said, however, her voice didn't sound like it was in danger. Ash shook his head softly; he had to see what was in this other door now. The empress could wait.

He opened the final door on the sides of the hallway, stepping into a room that had its walls painted like the sky with amusement park rides in the distance, an ice cream stand to the edge of the wall, and a small bench in the middle. Suddenly the lighting turned purple and the ghostly version of himself was seen sitting on the bench. _"Ash…"_ The ghostly image of Delia came into view as she held ice cream bars. _"I'm sorry this trip didn't end so well. I never expected…that to happen. I had hoped we would just enjoy our time here and visit your grandfather. I… I had hoped he had recovered by now, but…"_ Delia said then sighed as she sat down next to the boy, _"obviously that didn't happen. And my attempt to talk with your father obviously never happened, and I doubt will ever happen now. I still can't believe he housed that...that FREAK with him! I...I just don't get your father."_ Ash looked away. Suddenly black shadowy figures could be seen around them. _**"Look at that freak. I can't believe it's not in the Sanitarium with its freak of a grandfather or in jail with that monster."**_ A monstrous voice said, however, it seemed Ash's mother didn't notice the comment at all. Ash covered his ears. _**"Yeah. A freak like him doesn't deserve love. Hahaha."**_ Another monster voice laughed. Ash and his younger version growled. Delia blinked. _"Ash, what's wrong?"_ Delia asked, confused. The very young boy looked at his mother. _"M-mom, c-can we go home?"_ Young Ash asked. Delia sighed. _"Yes, Honey. I'm...I'm sorry for leading you to...that thing. I promise it won't happen again,"_ Delia said, giving young Ash his ice cream bar which had begun to melt. Young Ash looked at the bar and after a bit of hesitation, he took it. Suddenly images faded away, leaving behind a blue tile. Ash walked over to it and picked it up. This time the picture was of a Meowth. Ash held his head. What was going on? What happened to him after he met grandpa? Who's this monster the images talked about?

Ash shocked his head. 'Focus Ash. You can overcome this. Dawn and the others are so close! You… you can do this! You're a hero!' Ash told himself. Ash quickly grabbed the tile and put it in his backpack. He then exited the room and looked at the final door. He gulped and walked forward. With a mighty grip, Ash opened the last door and entered a large room with a piano at the end. Ash gasped as he noticed the woman playing the piano WAS Dawn. She had her back turned to the boy bravely surmounting at the door, her hands lightly tapping the piano keys. However, the boy recognized her instantly even though her clothes weren't the same as when he last saw her. Her hair was done up in a ponytail, she wore a long blue school dress, white stockings, and black shoes. Sitting on the piano beside her was a pink Buneary doll. The huge eyes of the rabbit stared right at Ash, sending a shiver down his spine. "Come in." The girl calmly said, however, her voice was still an adult's. Ash blinked. "D-Dawn? Is… Is that you? But... but your voice… what happened to your voice?" Ash asked, bewildered by all of this. 'Dawn' sighed. "Y-yes Ash, it's me. I'm sorry for all of this. I truly am. I tried to warn you about the town, but… I had no idea of Edward so I couldn't prevent these things from happening. I'm… I'm so sorry!" 'Dawn' cried out as she covered her face with her hands, her voice sounding a bit more like Dawn at the end. Ash felt bad for her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Dawn. I'm here. I'll stop Edward and end this nightmare. Just tell me where he is and we can stop him," He said as he tried to comfort her. After a bit, 'Dawn' sniffled. "Y-yes… Y-you're right. After all, that's why HE called you here. I'm sorry about that. My emotions sometimes get the better of me." 'Dawn' said as she recomposed herself. Ash became confused, but soon remembered the story about Alessa. "Dawn, are you sure you're okay? Do... do you remember who Alessa Gillespie is? After all, you… you called yourself the empress." Ash asked, a bit nervous.

'Dawn' looked down. "Ash, there's something I must tell... I... I am Alessa. R-right now Dawn's mind is asleep so she doesn't know anything about this. But I know all about what has happened to the town thanks to the Executioner. He keeps me informed and protects me from the monsters outside." Alessa said. Ash became shocked. "A-ALESSA!? Y-you're the girl who caused all of this and destroyed the town last time! If it weren't for you and the order, this wouldn't be happening to us!" Ash yelled as he remembered what she did to the town. Alessa flinched at this. "Yes, and I wish I could've done something to stop this from happening, but...there wasn't. I'm sorry you had to suffer because of me. And I wish I could that horrible...horrible event never happened." She said, however, she sounded like she meant every word. Ash clutched his fist. He didn't know what to feel. On the one hand, if Alessa didn't exist, then the order wouldn't have found Edward and cause him create this hell hole. But... on the other hand, she never wanted this to happen and she was regretful. Ash sighed and looked away.

"Alright. I...I forgive you. I can see that it's not your fault, and I know Dawn doesn't want this. But first, we need to find my dad and the others," Ash said. Alessa lifted her head up. "Oh, you mean Henry? No need to worry, he and the others are alright for now, although you won't find them here," Alessa said; she still hadn't turned around as she smirked, "It's remarkable how calm you are. Most people would've gone completely mad by now. Although, it's hard to see that since you were already mad." Ash growled. "I AM NOT MAD! I'm… I'm just so confused. Dawn… Alessa, please, tell me where they are then. I'm so tired of being confused. I… I want the truth. Why are you here? Why aren't you with the others and why did the 'Executioner' send me here?" Ash asked, trying to resist the urge to wrap his hands around the girl's throat. He didn't want to hurt her, but he was enraged by everything that it was hard not to just hit something. "Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. You're quite used to a world of monsters, aren't you? It's your life… Our lives." She said; the last part was sad. Ash was starting to shake with anger, losing any semblance of patience he had with her not explaining anything and her roundabout answers. "What are you talking about? I asked you about my father, not about this stupid world!" Ash yelled. Alessa's voice took on a mocking tone in Ash's ears. "Ash, think about it. How much difference is there between what you know and what is happening out there? Ash, do you know why that is? Do you know why Edward exists in the first place?" She asked. Ash growled as his eyes glowed red. "IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Ash finally snapped and grabbed her arm. " **WHERE'S – MY – FATHER?"** Ash roared, his voice becoming exactly like the story teller's voice. He suddenly remembered that this was Dawn. His friend who he had traveled with for over a year, the one he missed when she left. He looked down. "Dawn… Alessa, please. I'm tired of it all. I just… I just want you to give me a straight answer. I… I love you. I don't want to hurt you because of my anger," Ash said, his voice had returned to normal. She sighed. "You just as single-minded as I remember. I had hoped you had changed over the decades," She said. This really caught Ash off guard. He had no idea what she meant by that. "Dawn… Alessa… _Empress._ What's going on with me? I just feel so strange and I… I'm snapping at my friends more than normal. And when will Eddie stop his rampage and return this town to normal? Those monsters of his…" Ash asked.

"Ah, but isn't he just another creation? After all, why else hasn't he left already?" Alessa asked. Ash blinked. "Um...I don't know. Maybe he's still here because he likes touching the people who are left." Ash blankly state, unsure why she was asking him this.

"If that's the case, then why didn't he just posse you. Your body was ripe for the picking and he wouldn't have forgotten his mission if he just took over. And if that's not the case, then who do you think made him?" She asked. Ash looked at her. "Um… well… I guess Pyramid Head. He is a part of Edward and seems to act differently than Edward. So he would be the one to control the monsters and made Edward's body. He probably didn't want to take over my body since I have nothing to do with the town, so he made that manifestation instead." Ash said. She sighed. "The only creatures he controls are the nurses, and even then it wasn't him who created them. After all, he is the same as the monsters. He doesn't create. He judges." She said. Ash blinked. "What?" Ash asked, "ARE YOU JOKING? I read Markham's history, I read what happened to Silent Hill, and I saw Edward kill those cultists that brought him his powers… HOW CAN HE NOT BE CONTROLLING THEM!?" Alessa soon smirked. She had been waiting for this. "And yet, why hasn't he left? He seems contempt on not being here. He wants to go outside, but yet he can't. He can't even go into Perlis' building to take revenge. Even if he had gotten his vengeance against Perlis, he still couldn't leave. Why is that? He has the power to warp reality and make these horrifing creatures, and yet, he does not leave." She said. Ash became confused. Perlis? What does he have to do with any of this? Ash soon realized that he had forgotten about him in all the chaos. Ash's eyes widen. "No way. There is no way Perlis is doing all of this!" Ash argued. She nodded as she agreed. "You're correct. Perlis is not the one creating the monsters. Let alone controlling them. But who do you think is really responsible?" She asked. Ash held his head. "I… I don't know. Is… is it you?" He asked, scared. She was the empress after all.

"If that is the case, then why did those creatures attack this place? You saw what they did to the building." She asked. Ash groaned. He had to admit that made sense, and it made him calmer that she wasn't insane. Still, who could it be? He held his tongue as he saw Alessa had more to say. His fingers were almost within his fists. "The creatures aren't controlled; they're influenced by the mind of the person who wants to judge. However, in order to create these monsters, the crown Jewel must be used, but you already knew that…" She said. Ash blinked again. "What?" He asked. What was she talking about? "You remember James Sunderland, right? The creatures created were based on his guilt. Alex created monsters based on his guilt. Walter…" Alessa said. Ash growled. "I DON'T CARE!" Ash roared. Taking Alessa's arm by surprise. "I know who you are! I've known what you've done! Do you honestly expect me to believe that all of this ISN'T because of you or Edward!? I remember how they attacked you as Heather, why should I buy that it isn't happening again!" Ash roared. Ash soon covered his mouth with his free hand. 'C-calm down. Yelling at her won't solve anything.' Ash told himself. He soon heard himself growl. _'But we're the emperor! We can't let this woman stop us!'_ 'Edward' said. Ash held his head. "Do you?" She asked. Ash gulped and looked at her. "Y-yes. I've read the report Markham made about you. What you did to the town. What…WHAT YOU DID TO ME!? If it weren't for you, Grandpa wouldn't have seen me as a monster! Grandpa would love me! EDWARD WOULD NEVER HAD GOTTEN INTO ME AND… AND I… I WOULD BE HAPPY IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU!" Ash screamed. Ash's eyes glowed red as he felt all of his inhibitions let loose. He soon turned her to face him. Ash soon became silent as he looked at her. She had colder and blacker eyes. Ash soon saw Dawn's smiling face causing him to breath heavily as he remembered his dear friend.

"Ash, I know nothing I say will amend for all the crimes I have done to you, and I'm sorry that I inevitably hurt you. I did not know I did that to you and I did not know your grandfather would hurt you like that, but yelling and blaming me will solve nothing." Alessa coldly said. Ash looked away in shame. "But…but if it's not you or him, then… then who is it? Who is this… this monster who is creating and unleashing all of these monsters? Who has this Jewel you talk about? Is… Is it this Executioner you talk about? Is… Is it all his fault?" Ash asked. Alessa sighed. "It seems you still don't understand. However, before you start blaming me again, there is something I must tell you. This body is merely a manifestation of the town, just like the monsters. You called me here to explain things and to see me again. You miss me. You love me. And yet, here you are, yelling at me. Blaming things on which I haven't done. While I do have the crown, activating it isn't something I want to do. I just wonder. Do you hate Dawn?" She asked. Ash's eyes shrank. "Wh-what? N-no way. She's... she's one of my best friends. I don't hate her. But... you... you are something... different. I...I just don't know what to think anymore." Ash said as he closed his eyes and held his head.

"Do you know who you are?" She asked. Ash nodded. "Yes. I'm Ash Ketchum. Nothing more, nothing less… but now I'm confused about daddy and myself, and... and I… I feel so lost." Ash said. He soon held himself like a lost child. "All I want is my father!" The words tumbled out of Ash's mouth before he could stop them. Alessa simply watch, a little satisfied that he was finally breaking down like she did. "You can keep the town, the monsters, THIS STINKING KINGDOM! I… I never want to see it again! Just… JUST GIVE ME MY DADDY BACK!" Tears sprung from Ash's eyes as he cried, "Puh-please. I'm sick of all this, just…just make it stop." Ash looked at the girl with pleading eyes. He wondered if that look of sadness and pity on Alessa's face wasn't just a mask. Eventually, the girl took a deep breath and tapped the keyboard one more time. "They're under the stadium," She finally said. Ash blinked as the tears began to dry up. "What?" Ash said, confused. Ash was listening to her, and yet felt distant. "Under the Colloseum stadium. Behind a door in the basement. I'm not certain what the place is exactly… it could an underground temple or just a sewage system that somehow survived the fire, who knows. Anyways, it's the most secure location Silent… I mean Yoka Village. Henry and your friends are there. That's where the Executioner took them. I'm sorry he's doing this to you. I do not understand his methods, but Dawn wonders if all of this is his fault," She said. Ash heard her mistook. She knew about Silent Hill as well, but it didn't surprise him. That was what Ash wanted to hear, and since she wasn't Dawn, he could care less about her. He was about to run back down the stairs when something stopped him. "How do I know you're telling the **truth?** After all, you're just a manifestation." Ash said.

The mysterious girl smirked. "You don't," Alessa said, "You have no reason to believe a word I say, do you? But what else are you going to do? You'll find what you're looking for, but things aren't what they think they are. If you're not careful, you might lose yourself truly to your own madness."

Ash looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Ash asked. Alessa turned to face Ash. Her expression was solemn, her mouth showing no emotion. "You'll see. The Executioner warned me," She said. That was all Ash heard before he bolted down the stairs, away from Alessa Gillespie, never looking back. The Empress of Yoka Village watched the boy leave with a solemn expression.

After coaxing Misty out of the closet and returning to the ambulance, Ash found himself drumming his fingers impatiently as the vehicle gradually left the woods behind and rode towards the stadium. In his mind, Jessie was going at a snail's pace. Soon, this nightmare would be over. He'd rescue his father and friends and get out of this hellhole. It could not happen soon enough for him. "Behind a door in the basement? Is that what she said?" Misty abruptly snapped him out of his thoughts. Ash looked at her and nodded. "Yeah… yeah. That's what she told me. Took her long enough." He answered. Jessie smiled. "Well, at least we know how the twerpette got here. Or rather that spirit that resembled her." Jessie said. Misty blinked. "What else did she say?" Misty asked.

"She told me that she wasn't the one responsible for all this, the guy on the phone and on the radio is in charge. Pyramid Head/Eddie are just another monster, although Eddie doesn't know he's being used. And… Perlis needs to pay for starting all of this." Ash remarked sullenly. Jessie smirked. "Yeah, and for all the other slimy stuff he did. Plus, he was the one to make Edward go crazy, allowing this Executioner guy to do whatever he did to turn this place into the hell hole it is now. But who is this guy anyways, and why haven't we heard of him before…" Jessie began to question. Misty and Ash began to think about it, but no clear answers came to mind. Misty sighed. "Well, whoever he is, he's using the monsters and Edward's pride to take the town back. And after we're done saving everyone, he can have it," Misty said. Ash nodded. 'This Executioner, whoever he is, will pay. I… I don't know why he's so nice to Alessa, but he's letting these monsters attack several other innocent people. He must pay for allowing this to happen.' Ash thought. Ash then looked at the truck and focused. "For now. The main thing is to find dad and get everybody out of here." Ash said. Misty thought for a moment. "But if 'Alessa' is telling the truth about Perlis … shouldn't we do something about him?" Misty asked. Ash soon smiled. "Oh, we'll make him pay! But that can be dealt with AFTER we save everyone, after all, we have enough evidence to send him to jail, and this time Tobais's on our side. There's no way that rat can escape us now. So let's get going!" Ash said, a happy tone back in his voice. Misty and Jessie smiled, it was nice seeing a happy Ash once again. Hopefully that meant everything was going to be alright now.

Back at Alessa's place, the girl in question was speaking into a phone receiver, pacing back and forth. "Okay, you were right. He wouldn't listen to me. The only thing he would hear was the location of his friends. I've sent him there right now… He should be arriving soon. I… I'm afraid that he's already lost in the madness of Edward. I fear that I'll lose him forever." She said. Alessa's eyes went wide. "What? When did he…? I thought you put him to sleep after Markham's place burned down. How is he already awake? He did _WHAT_? That's a problem… How long has he been awake? … This isn't good… Should I go to him and try to convince him to go away? What? What are you…?" She asked, confused. She didn't get an answer as the line hung up. Alessa groaned, hanging up the phone. From what she had heard, there were more nasty surprises waiting for Ash at the stadium. She looked at her piano and groaned. It looked like she would have to show Dawn this horrible world...


	24. Chapter 23

Ch. 23

Ash looked out of the ambulance as Jessie drove them through the woods. They were so close to finding everyone. He knew it. However, he was confused by those visions he saw. Why did he see them? What did they have to do with Alessa? Ash sighed and pulled out his backpack. "Huh? Did you pick something up?" Misty asked as she just noticed the bag looked a bit heavier. Ash looked at his friend and nodded. "Yeah. I found these tiles while I was searching for Alessa. They were in these…odd rooms. I'm still trying to figure out why they were there in the first place. I'm sure they weren't natural," Ash said. Jessie smirked. "Maybe they're a key to getting our friends. You never know with this place," She said. Ash looked his bag and then smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. After all, why else would they be here? Still…I wonder what would've happened if my curiosity didn't make me go through those doors," He asked himself. Misty simply shrugged. "Who knows twerp, all that matters are we get to the Colosseum now," Jessie replied. Ash relaxed and smiled. "Yeah," He said. However, just as they exited out of the forest, Jessie noticed the monsters blocking the road, causing her to put on the breaks. Ash growled as he looked at the beasts, which was compiled of the scythe monsters. Thier scythes were double sided, so running over them would only lead to flat tires. "NO! You're not stopping us! WE'RE GOING TO SAVE DAD!" Ash yelled, pure hatred for the creatures was in his eyes. Suddenly the siren shrieked, causing the gang to cover their ears. However, it wasn't painful enough to knock them out. They soon saw the road dissolving into a grated floor, the sky darkened, and the fog began to disappear. The group was shocked seeing the town transforming into a hellish version of itself. The monsters soon shuffled out of the way as the sirens quieted. The gang looked at them in confusion as they lowered their hands.

"Why are they leaving?" Misty asked. Ash held his chin as he thought. "I… do not know. Maybe they wanted to stop us from heading into a pit or something. I mean, this town has changed a lot now. Who knows where the holes are now." Ash said as he looked around. The 'road' was now made out of grating so new holes could appear. Jessie nodded. "Well, I guess we'll have to be extra careful. Hopefully, we can still use the map to get the building," Jessie said. Ash and Misty nodded. Misty looked outside. "Still… I wonder why Edward did this. Was it because we know where he is now, or what?" She asked, confused. Ash sighed. "I don't know why, but let's get going. Hopefully, everyone at the hospital is alright," He said. Jessie and Misty nodded and Jessie soon began driving again.

It took a bit of adjusting for them to figure out where to go, but thankfully none of the 'road' layouts had changed, so it was easy getting to the building. The 'road' was very bumpy now, but it didn't affect how Jessie drove. Ash looked outside while Misty looked at the map. None of the monsters were attacking them. In fact, he didn't hear any of them. "That's strange. Why aren't they attacking?" Misty asked. Ash shrugged. "I don't know. Edward surely is in the mode to attack us, after all, he made the place look like this, and yet… he's not. It's very strange," Jessie said. Ash nodded. "Just be glad he's sparing us. I bet the colosseum is crawling with dangerous monsters," Ash said. Jessie and Misty nodded. After a while, they finally reached the 'road' the Colosseum was on and were shocked at the state it was in. The Yoka Village battle colosseum was dead. The screens that once showed the exciting Pokémon battles had either shorted out or been ripped apart by savage claws. The once-spotless exterior was marred with blood and scratches. Misty sighed at the irony that this was once a place where children could enjoy friendly Pokémon battles, and now this place was a casualty of an entirely different sort of battle. If you could even call it a battle. Ash looked up at the place as the van slowed to a stop. This was the building that he saw the day he arrived here. Where he had met Misty and 'Eddie' for the first time. Thinking about that monster made Ash's teeth grind. When all of this was over, he was going to return with an army and make Edward rue the day he...

No. Not yet. First, he had to find Henry and the others. And if Alessa was to believe, they were in here somewhere. He couldn't help but wonder, what happened to Edward? He knew that the mad man was a part of Pyramid Head, but then why hadn't the monster try and attack him directly after their last encounter. Ash sighed as he and the others got out of the van. After all this time, he hadn't thought about that question until now. Probably because he was so busy with everything else. Ash looked at Jessie and Misty. Both of them were as nervous as he was, but neither of them was backing down. Not now. There was too much at stake to stop here. They all knew it. "Let's go," Ash said as he began walking. There was nothing more to say. The three of them stepped towards the stadium entrance. The doors opening to the Colosseum were broken, but they still allowed the trainers inside. As soon as the doors opened, Ash heard a small sibilant voice in the darkness. _"Be careful, Daddy,"_ It said. Ash gulped and stepped inside with the others.

...

For the past couple of hours, Tracy had been hearing a horrible ruckus above him. It sounded like a war zone was right above the room where he was being kept. Covering his ears with the pillow couldn't block out the unearthly shrieks and roars coming from the roof. Amid the noise, he could make out someone shouting orders like a crazy general. It was Edward's, which confused Tracy. Why was he fighting his own monsters? James, Axew, and Pikachu were on edge themselves. Pikachu kept looking at the ceiling. Tracy didn't know what it was thinking. James had long ago clamped his eyes shut and covered his ears to block out the screaming. Henry... Tracy still couldn't see him clearly. But he was still alive and struggling, but Tracy got the impression that he was... different. Something about him had changed, but it was hard to tell what happened. And then there was a person who he hadn't seen before. She was in a cage next to Tracy and James since she had only arrived about an hour or so ago. She had long blue hair in braids and wore a white medieval dress, white socks and shoes, and a white veil over her mouth. She looked very concerned as she prayed in a soft tone, but it was that strange mumbo-jumbo langue the cult was using. Was she a part of it?

Suddenly a loud siren could be heard, causing all the other noises to go silent. Suddenly Edward began screaming in pain. After a while, the siren and the screaming stopped. Tracy relaxed. Finally, some peace. However, that didn't last for long. _Skreeeeeeek skreeeeeek SKREEEEEEK._ The guard was back! Tracy tried to make himself as small as possible as the guard lumbered past him. The scared boy clamped his eyes and ears shut as that horrible screeching went past. Unfortunately, he couldn't block out the guard's voice, **"He's here."** The woman gasped in joy and began thanking 'god'. However, all it did was confuse Tracy. **"The final trial will begin. You must get ready, creature,"** The guard warned everyone. Henry looked up and sighed. "Don't worry, I'm ready. Let's just hope Ash is as well," Henry said.

…

On seeing the destruction wreaked upon the entrance to the battle dome, Ash wondered about how he had barely noticed how the place looked when he had battled there. He hadn't paid any real attention to the room - or the town, come to think of it - taking it for granted as he awaited his next fight. Looking at it now, it was hard to believe that this was a place for trainers. The reception counter was shredded. The posters on the walls, election and otherwise, were reduced to charred scraps. The walls themselves had been torn apart, leaving the wooden and backing visible. More signs of an attack by the abominations of the town. Which begged the question... where were the creatures? They had clearly made their way inside, so why weren't they waiting to attack them? The question was quickly answered by loud roaring from within. The three trainers jumped at the noise, which was coming from where the battle arena. Savage screams and shrieks echoed through the empty corridors of the stadium, making Jessie and Misty seriously consider turning around. Ash clenched his fists and stepped onward, walking into the stadium. Glancing at each other briefly, the two girls followed. The first thing they saw past the reception counter was the dead body of a Vaporeon. The poor creature had been hacked apart by ferocious blades and laid to rest in a puddle of its own blood. Whoever or whatever killed it had the audacity to write the letters K O above the corpse, signing their work with the Pokémon's blood. Jessie tried to swallow back the rising bile while Misty and Ash tried to avert their eyes. Ash soon walked up to the door that leads deeper inside, however, when he tried to open it, he noticed a very large lock pad. Ash groaned. "Great. Just great, someone locked the door," Ash said, upset. Misty smiled. "M-maybe it's the other trainers. Maybe Tobias locked them in here so the monsters wouldn't hurt them. After all, he said he was staying in here to help the people here… But…now that I think about it, why is he at the hospital? These people needed him. There's no way he would abandon them," Misty said, confused.

"I honestly don't know what's going on, but we need to find that key. Everyone's waiting for us," Ash said. The two women nodded. Ash looked around and walked up to one of the many doors in the area. Ash tried to open it but soon found the lock was jammed. "Damn, we can't use this door. Misty, Jessie, you try the other doors. There has to be at least one working door," Ash said as he walked to another door. The two women nodded and quickly went to a door Ash hadn't checked yet. They soon began checking all the doors, however, with each one they tried, they found out it had a busted lock or something was blocking it on the other side. Ash sighed as he stood in front of the last door. 'After this one, we'll check this room. Maybe the key is at one of the desks,' Ash thought, however, when he turned the nob, the door opened. This shocked him but caused him to smiled. "Guys, I found an open door! I'll go in and check it. You guys should start looking around in this room." Ash said. Misty looked at him. "But Ash…" She protested, however, he soon smiled. He pulled out the rusted pipe from his backpack. It was the same pipe he used to defeat the nurse monster that was driving them here. "Don't worry. If I run into a monster, I'll use this on it. I've gotten quite good at using it. Besides… I can handle myself. We will find them if it's the last thing I do," Ash said, then walked through the door. Misty and Jessie sighed. "Well, hopefully, we'll find some more ammo for that gun you have… you still have it?" Jessie asked. Misty checked her backpack and smiled. "Yep. And maybe we'll find a weapon for you," Misty said happily. Jessie smirked. "Yeah! Let's get searching!" Jessie yelled. Misty nodded.

Back with Ash, he looked around the room. It was a janitor closet. It was fairly clean, although a bit dusty. It looked like the monsters hadn't reached this place. Suddenly there was rattling of the shelves. Ash froze and got into a fighting pose. Suddenly a blur rushed towards him. Before he could do anything, he was knocked to the ground. Ash grunted. He then looked at his assistant, but quickly realized it was a man. The man was ruffled with thick, whitening black hair, blue eyes, and wore a blue jacket. Ash blinked. The man looked fairly old. Ash couldn't believe this old man survived yet everyone else seemed to have died. The man soon realized that he had attacked a boy. The man got off the boy and sighed. "Sorry about that. I… I thought you were one of the monsters. I thought they had finally found me," The man said, his voice very gruff. Ash smiled as he sat up. "Don't worry, it's alright. I would've thought the same thing too due to what happened. But… what happened here? Are you the only one left in the main room?" Ash asked, confused. The man sighed. "Yes. However, are there others with you?" The man asked as he got up. Ash nodded. "Two women. They're outside. Don't worry, there aren't any monsters there, but...honestly I don't know why," Ash said, a bit confused by the last part. The man was shocked to hear this. "Th-the monsters are gone?" The man asked. Ash nodded and got up. "Yeah. I found that weird too. I have no idea what caused that," Ash said. The man nodded. Ash then lead the man out of the room. Jessie and Misty stopped searching the lobby as they heard a door open. They turned to the sound and were shocked to see that Ash had actually found a survivor. Misty smiled.

"Ash! Oh, thank Arceus you found someone who is alive. Hopefully, we will find out what happened here," Misty said. Ash chuckled. "Yeah. I'm glad about that too," He agreed. Jessie looked at the man in confusion. "But… who is he? And why is he only here? I'm sure everyone else who aren't d… dead are behind those locked doors," Jessie said. She felt uncomfortable saying the word dead. The man nodded. "Yes, right now I'm the only here. And I hope you are right about your assumptions. Especially after that…the monster appeared. Ehrman… Anyways, my name is Luc. I am a simple Pokémon trainer, just here to see the tournament. Who are you guys?" Luc said. Ash blinked as he remembered his guardian. Ash held his head. He was confused. Was Luc always real and this was the man he inspired the guardian? Or did Edward manifest the imaginary figure? And if the latter, why? "I'm Misty, this is Ash, and that's Jessie," Misty introduced them, this snapped Ash out of his thoughts.

"It's nice to meet another human who isn't stuck at the hospital," Jessie said as she held out her hand. Luc nodded as he shocked her hand. He soon sighed as he finished. "I just wish this hadn't happened. I didn't want to be back here again," Luc said in frustration. The others nodded. They all wished this hadn't happened. "But obviously, that didn't happen," Misty said, not happy about what she said. Luc nodded. He soon sighed as he looked away from the carnage around him. "Yes… I came here once the fog formed and those… things outside appeared. At first, there were only the trainers who were originally here and a few survivors were here, but after a few hours, more and more people arrived. The 'champion' of Sinnoh was able to keep them from securing to their fears…however, he knew there were others out there, so… he and a group of trainers and their Pokémon soon left the stronghold to go out and hopefully save some people… however… they never come back. I'm sure they're dead now. It's been too long since they've disappeared for any other explanation," Luc said, coldness in his eyes. Ash and his friends felt awkward. "A-actually, we found Tobias and the others, they're at the hospital right now," Ash said. Luc looked at him in shock. "WHAT!? Really! Oh, thank Arceus they're alive… but… it doesn't change what I and the others had been through while he was gone. They began panicking. I tried to keep them calm, but it didn't work… especially… when the sky outside changed. It… It was like how it is now. Gloomy, red, and oddly clear of the fog. Then the sky changed back to fog and then to the red version. It happened from time to time until it eventually just stuck to being the fog. Everyone was scared during that time," Luc said. Misty and Jessie froze as they remembered what Ash did in the sanitarium. Ash looked away in shame. 'It's my fault they were so scared. But…But I didn't know that. If Edward hadn't caused me to use that strange power, it would have never happened,' Ash thought to himself. He didn't want Luc to learn and think that this was all his fault. "Yeah. But then what happened to this place?" Misty asked.

"After I calmed them down… Edward came in. He began laughing like a maniac and the Pokémon that were out of their Pokeballs stood in front of their trainers. He soon told those… things to attack us. Some of our Pokémon soon jump into the attack to distract them and I just remember running to the closet. I… I can see quite a number of them d-died," Luc said. The gang nodded in disgust. "Edward, I should've known. He… he has my friends and just to hide them, he… he did this! I'm going to make him suffer for all of this!" Ash yelled. Jessie and Misty nodded. "But… why is that door locked from the outside? Did Edward do it?" Jessie asked. Luc sighed as he looked at the locked door. "Honestly, I don't know, but I hope they're okay…" Luc said.

"We just need the key, and we'll know for sure if that's true or not," Jessie said. Luc nodded and looked at the closet. "I think I saw something in there. Ash, why don't you come with me to search for it?" Luc asked. Ash blinked but then smiled. "Sure. Misty, Jessie, you two keep searching this room. Just in case it's in here," He said. The two women nodded and resumed their search. In the meanwhile, Ash and Luc went back into the closet. Ash looked at Luc as the man and himself began searching. "H-hey, Luc? I was I just wondering... D-do I know you?" Ash asked as this was the perfect chance he had. Luc smirked as he stopped. "Actually yes, master. In fact, I am the same Luc that you have seen in your dreams," He said. Ash stopped and looked at the man. "R-really? But if you're the same Luc, why are you here in the real world?" Ash asked. Luc sighed as he turned towards Ash. "Honestly I do not know. I simply found myself in the mist after Edward went crazy and you fainted. It was just a coincidence that I found myself here. I'm pretty sure Edward did this, but why he did, that I do not know," Luc said in a perplexed state. Ash sighed in relief. "Well, at least I have you to help me. I… I need it especially bad. I've been yelling at my friends more than usual and there's this voice that has been calling me names. It has given me a few good tips that helped me solve puzzles and tell me where to go, but it's mostly mocking me." Ash said as he held himself.

"Ah yes, that voice. That accused voice that has been bothering you since the beginning of the tournament. I, at first, thought it was Edward, but it was saying stuff he would never call you. He isn't the type to call other people monsters. So, up until now, I thought it was Satoshi, but what perplexes me is the helpful tips. Yes, the king can be helpful sometimes, but how did he know those things?" Luc coldly said. Ash soon looked down. "M-maybe because of me. D-do you remember Grandpa and what he did to us?" Ash asked. Luc's eyes shrank. He soon looked away. "So… you finally remember back then. I… I was sure those memories would never resurface. Those memories are ones that no child should ever experience…" Luc said.

"You know. I wouldn't have known about those memories if Dad wasn't at the Sanitarium. In fact, if Edward hadn't captured him, I wouldn't have come back to this town and learned that Pyramid Head fused with Edward once he had gained his powers," Ash chuckled as he remembered the reason he was here. Luc looked at Ash in shock. "Y-your father's here?" Luc asked. Ash looked at him and nodded. "Yeah. I was shocked as well, but it's him. And he's just as I have imagined. I… I just wish I could talk to him again," Ash said as he held himself. Luc looked away. "Ash… you'll find him. I'm sure. You just need to be careful, this… this place is affecting you badly. This madness needs to end before Edward makes you like him," Luc said. Ash looked at him and smile. "Don't worry, I'm going to make it stop. I just need that key," Ash said. Luc nodded and soon notice something shine in the corner of his eyes. He turned and picked it up.

"I found a key and… it's on a note. Maybe it's important." Luc said as he picked up the items. Ash smiled. "Really? Well then read it." Ash said. Luc nodded as he turned to the boy. _"Tick-tock, tick-tock, the clock did swing. Tick-tock, tick-tock, the sirens they sing. But as you take the stand, the time for judgment is close at hand. Will you finally learn about your past, or will the pain consume you at last? The truth, the truth, the truth will soon be learned, but there is no time to be concerned. Tick-tock, tick-tock, the clock runs low. Tick-tock, tick-tock, hurry up now, you mustn't be slow."_ The letter read. Ash looked at Luc in confusion. "That's kind of like Alessa said. That I needed to hurry up to save them. Does… does that mean us dillydallying has put the others in danger?" Ash asked, fearful. Luc smiled. "Ash, I'm sure they're fine… however, the note is correct. Who knows when Edward will get impatient and try to hurt them," Luc said as he hands out the key. Ash nodded and grabbed the key. "You're not coming with us?" Ash asked. Luc sighed as he looked away. "I want to Ash, I really do. But… what could I do against that monster? I tried using my aura but in this form, it wouldn't work. I'm practically useless. You don't need me slowing you down," Luc said. Ash reached out to touch him. "But…" Ash tried to protest, however, he was soon stopped by Luc touching the boy's hand. Luc gave off a warm smile that made Ash feel uncomfortable. "Ash, it's okay. I'll be fine. Just go on. You must stop Edward," Luc said. Ash sighed and nodded. He soon left the closet and shut it behind him.

Misty and Jessie turned to Ash and noticed Luc wasn't with him. "Hey, where's Luc?" Jessie asked. Ash looked at the key. "He's staying behind. He said that it's safer for him in the closet plus if we run into any monsters or Edward, he would just be dead weight. If… if you want, you can stay behind in the closet with him. T-that way you wouldn't get hurt." Ash said, feeling uncomfortable. Jessie and Misty glared at the boy. Ash looked up and froze in fear. "Ash, are you nuts? We told you. We're staying with you til the end. We're not going to abandon you. While it's okay that Luc is staying behind, you shouldn't force yourself to go in alone." Misty scolded the boy. Ash gulped and then bowed. "I'm sorry. I... I was just thinking of your safety. A-anyways, we should get going now. I found the key," Ash said. Misty and Jessie sighed and then smiled. "Alright twerp, we'll let you off the hook. Let's get going now," Jessie said. Ash stood up and nodded. The gang walked over to the locked door and Ash inputted the key. With a simple twist, the lock pad unlatched it holds and then fell into Ash's hands. He tried to get the key out in case they would need it for later, but no matter how hard she tried, the key was stuck in the lock. Ash grumbled and quickly threw the lock and key away and opened the door.

Just before the battlefield itself was preparations room, where the trainers would prepare themselves and their Pokémon before a match. Scattered around the room were dead bodies of Pokémon, Trainers, and oddly the monsters. The Pokémon were lying in their dying blood with the expressions of absolute horror on their dead faces. The humans had the same horrified look but most were hung on the walls with barbed wire. However, what really confused and scared them were several corpses of the monsters, cut to pieces without a drop of blood. Scrawled in blood around the room were the words **'LOSER! KO! DEFEAT! WHITEOUT!'.** Jessie couldn't hold back the bile anymore and threw up in a convenient garbage can. Misty had to clamp her eyes shut and grab onto a shaking Ash. "Misty...Are…" Ash said. Misty suddenly squished his arm and her lips began trembling, causing the boy to quiet up. "J-just... just tell me when we're outta here! Please..." She begged. Ash swallowed what was building up in his throat and led the girl through the bloody locker room. Jessie followed him slowly, having too much pride to have Ash lead her like with Misty. They often had to step over the dead bodies, and their shoes were soaked in the blood very quickly. And the smell... Jessie, Misty, and Ash had to cover their noses to make it through the room without fainting. All the while the noises of horrific battle raged on ahead of them. Of course, Ash wished he could just run away. But his father and friends were counting on him. He had to do this. For Henry. For Pikachu. For Axew. For Tracy. For James. Thinking about them spurred him on, and soon he was out of the locker room.

"Misty? We're out." Ash told her. Misty gradually opened her eyes and smiled as she saw that they were at one of the ends of the arena. "Thanks..." She whispered weakly. Jessie frowned. "Don't thank him yet," Jessie remarked, staring out with wide eyes, "We ain't out of trouble." The two children followed her gaze and saw what she meant. The battlefield was the site of a savage battle between two of the Yoka Village monsters. One was the scythe-shark creature, the same thing that attacked them near the antique shop and the apartments. The another one was something new. A black four-legged spider creature with all its legs replaced with long, scythe-like blades. Two more appendages had been fused to its back, swinging the deadly blades in the air. Eight eyes stared at its opponent while bloodied mandible clicked together in anticipation of meat. The scythe-shark monster took a swing at the spider with one of its scythe-arms. The abomination dodged easily before leaping onto the shark creature, its scythes impaling the huge monster. The two extra blades hacked at the enemy's flesh, cutting it to pieces just like the corpses from the locker room. "FINISH HIM!" A voice suddenly roared out. It sounded familiar. The creature obeyed the order and lopped off the shark monster's head with one swipe. The headless monster slowly tumbled to the ground with a loud thud. The spider monster removed his blades from the corpse and clacked them together in victory. "YES! I am STILL the CHAMP here!" The crazed voice yelled again. The group searched for the source of that voice. On one of the trainer, the platform was a boy. No... That was no boy. That was Edward. He was still in the clothes of his other form, but it was clear it was still him. Near him were more monsters. 5 to be precise. Most of them they had seen before. One was the shark monster, one was the cat-monster, and one was the giant scythe bug. Then there was humanoid in shape, but it had a large muscular body and a smaller, more human body stitched at the top that had an actual head. The lower body had two long arms with clubs at the ends, stubby goat-like legs, and bandages wrapped around its arms and torso. The top half had two meaty arms, was smaller and skinnier than its lower self, and had a very bizarre head. It was in a sack that was stitched all over the place, but at the top was a small hole and what looked to be a black tongue sticking out, licking the air.

The last creature was vaguely humanoid, standing roughly six feet tall. Scraggy yellow fur covered a lean frame, with blood-red stripes going across the back and a lightning-shaped tail. Two very long, very sharp claws scraped the ground as if being sharpened. Most grotesque of all was the head. It was three times larger than normal, making look like a living bobblehead doll. The head was hanging at an unnatural angle, giving the appearance of a broken neck. Two long pointed ears hung down from the sideways head. Two beady eyes stared at the trio, with a huge mouth filled with sharp teeth grinned the grin of a Sharpedo see in a fresh meal. Ash was horrified by this monster the most. That creature looked like a monstrous version of his best buddy. However, their attentions soon went back to the monstrous 'king' that controlled them as he let out a disturbing laugh. The crazed boy held up a gold trophy splattered with blood. "The CAMP! Ain't that right, Ariados?" Edward said to the bug creature with honest joy. _Ariados?_ Ash and the others looked at the spider creature. This creature was definitely NOT an Ariados... actually, now that they looked at it, there was a resemblance. A very dark, twisted resemblance but still a resemblance. Ash's and the others' attentions were brought back to reality as Edward snapped his fingers. Suddenly the creature walked back to its master. Suddenly the man noticed the three people staring at him with horrified eyes.

"Finally! Some actual trainers! I was getting bored of grinding with all these wild ones. I was hoping to meet Trip or Tobias first and get my revenge on them since that stupid Perlis won't let me into his building, but they're still hiding away in the hospital. Such losers. At least I was able to defeat all of the fresh trainers here before the wild ones began challenging me." Edward said. Misty's face warped into a ferocious glare. "YOU? You killed all those Pokémon and Trainers?" Misty yelled. Edward laughed. "Yeah. I'm the champion here; I need to train my Pokémon, especially Pikachu. And what better way to train my favorite Pokémon and buddy? You may know me as Edward Hyde, but call me Champ!" Edward said. Ash growled. How dare he call that monster Pikachu and call it his buddy and keep calling these abominations Pokémon. Jessie stepped forward, her teeth grinding. "You sick little..." She threatens. Edward simply smirked and wagged his finger. "Ah-ah-ahh! That's no way to talk to the winner of Yoka Village's big competition! Is it, Ariados?" Edward asked the bug. It roared in agreement. Ash growled. "YOU'RE NO CAMPION! YOU'RE A FREAK AND A MONSTER! YOU CAUSE THIS TOWN TO BE DESTROY! YOU KIDNAPPED MY FATHER AND MY FRIENDS! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING AND NOW YOU HAVE THE GULL TO ACT LIKE NONETHING HAPPENED!" Ash roared in rage, letting his anger out, "You don't deserve the power you have! I WISH YOU HAD NEVER HAD ENTERED MY BODY!" Edward looked away and frowned, catching Ash off guard. Ash soon saw a younger version of himself sitting on the floor, crying. Ash shocked image away and glared at Edward. 'I can't have his mind games affect me again. I'm not falling for it.' Ash told himself.

"So... you finally admit it. I could always tell you hated me, especially when we last met, but now…now I can truly see the pain you've been holding back. No wonder the wild Pokémon are especially vicious to me. (Soft cold chuckle.) But, it doesn't matter. There is no way to save you... or myself. All I can do is enjoy the moments of freedom we have before another person comes here and force us to judge them. So..." He said, glum, but then smiled. "Are you up for a battle?" Ash thought about it for a second before shaking his head clear. "No! We got to get to the basement and save everyone. You can have the town! You can have your monsters! I just want daddy back! We don't have time for this! I don't know how much longer before you try and use your monsters to attack them!" Ash yelled. The town was too far gone, there was nothing to save, all he could do was think of his friends and family. Edward's psychotic smile grew wider. "The basement, heh? Well, you'll need this then," Edward cozily said. From a bloody finger, Edward dangled a small key ring. Attached was as single small key. "Fished this off the custodian after I beat him. You'll need it to get downstairs. But honestly, I don't think you want to. It has truths I don't think you're ready for," Edward said. Ash's eyes went wide. "Give it to me, my father's down there!" Ash yelled. Edward shook his head in laughter. "Oh no. I don't give things away for free. You're gonna have to beat me for it," Edward said, then glanced down at his Ariados monster, "One-on-one, just the two of us. It's gonna be great!" Ash blinked in shock. "What?" Ash gasped. He couldn't fight! Even if he wanted to go up against that creature, his Pokémon was still in their Pokeballs. And Pikachu was being held captive in the basement. He couldn't battle this lunatic! But he had the key to the basement... "You can't do this, Ash!" Misty protested, "You can't fight this maniac! We can break down the door..."

"Don't wanna fight? That's too bad," Edward said, "I'll just have Ariados give you a few cuts, how'd you like that, huh? But don't worry, I won't kill you guys. Well, except for you Jessie, you can die for all I care. After all, you have chased us for so long. It'll be nice getting rid of a nuisance." Ash tensed. This was not happening! That maniacal monster was threatening him into a battle that he had no way of winning or even fighting. If he got defeated, Henry and the others would rot in Edward's clutches forever. If he turned around and ran, he would be abandoning his friends. Ash could not believe that he had come all this way just to... "Daddy?" A voice said. Ash whirled around to the sound of the voice. One of the skull-headed creatures from the amusement park was clambering over the audience railing, knife clutched in hand. The tiny monster ran up to Ash, looking him straight in the eye. "Daddy, I can help!" It said. Ash was stuck for a response. He just stood slack-jawed and wide-eyed for a second, stunned by what was happening. He looked at Misty, who was vigorously shaking her head _nonononononono._ Jessie had nothing to suggest herself. This was insane. This was complete, utterly, unbelievably... An image of Henry flashed in front of his eyes. Turning to face the psychotic self-proclaimed 'champ' and 'emperor' with a steely determination in his eyes, Ash spoke his response. "Fine. Let's battle," Ash said. Edward giggled excitedly. "I knew you wouldn't refuse," He said.


	25. Chapter 24

ch. 24

Ash felt like himself for the first time in a long time. He was back in his element, facing another trainer in a Pokémon battle with his friends watching. He smiled inwardly at the excitement and familiarity, which felt so much better than the fear and apprehension he had been feeling these last few days. It was quite refreshing. In the Yoka Village Colosseum, the two boys stared each other down, thinking of what order to give their Pokémon... No. Not Pokémon. Ash shook his head clear as reality set in. He was facing off against a homicidal maniac and one of his deadly abominations to save his father and friends from death. The 'Pokémon' he was commanding was one of the skull-headed creatures that had terrorized the group at the amusement park. The small monster clutched a sharp blade tightly, ready to drive it into flesh to please his 'daddy'. The little creature's eyes glanced back at Ash, sending an uncomfortable shiver down the trainer's spine, while it was facing was the 'Ariados' monster. _"I'll do good, Daddy. I promise."_ It said.

...

"This is so wrong," that was all Misty could gasp out. She and Jessie had moved to the abandoned stands to watch the fight from a safe distance. Both of them were sitting on the edge of their seats, tense not just because of what would happen, but what was at stake. "So wrong," The girl repeated, shaking her head. She could tell that this was not going to be a civilized battle like the ones she and Ash had in the Colosseum a few days ago. No. This would be a savage fight to the death. Misty hoped that Ash would keep his sanity through this nightmare. Jessie simply nodded to Misty's statement. Something else was going on in her mind as she looked very carefully at the two creatures in the field. Wheels in her head began to spin as she thought of all she had seen in that town and what Edward said...

...

"SLASH!" Edward yelled out his order and woke Ash out of his trouble stupor. The Ariados-monster began to charge towards the skull-headed child, its blades clicking and ready to kill. The tiny creature just stood there, waiting for an order from its 'daddy'. Ash acted fast. "DODGE!" Ash yelled. The skull monster leaped aside just as the spider slashed at it with the blades on its front legs. The scythes missed completely, and the smaller creature rolled to the side, knife at the ready. Ash gulped. He could do this. He had to. "Um... Fury Swipes!" Ash yelled. The tiny creature wasted no time. Running up to the spider monster, it swiped its knife at the blackened flesh. The knife cut deep and the spider cried in pain, but the smaller creature was swiftly knocked aside by the scythed forelegs. Rolling on the ground, the skull-headed child hit the wall of the stadium. "GUT 'IM!" Edward commanded. The spider-creature changed towards the smaller monster, the blades on its back poised and ready to impale.

"Dodge!" Ash commanded. The knife-wielding creature obeyed, rolling out of the way just in time. The spider's inertia prevented it from stopping in time, and its blades were buried in the stadium wall. The creature tried to get them unstuck. Ash saw an opportunity. "Slash!" Ash yelled. The knife monster ran up behind the spider monster and gouged into the bloodless flesh with its knife. The other monster roared in pain but then managed to free itself and counterattacked. If the skull-headed child had been any slower, it would've been cut in half. Edward smirked. "Oh, this might be fun after all. I was sure you wouldn't be able to use that thing properly, but it looks like I was wrong," Edward said. Ash smiled despite himself. He worked on a strategy to defeat this opponent, using the speed and maneuverability of his...

...

"Cubone," Jessie remarked out of the blue. Misty turned to look at the woman. "What?" Misty asked. Jessie pointed at the knife-wielding monster dodging the spider's blades. "If you look at that monster just right and think of all the Pokémon we have met, it looks like a Cubone. So in Edward's mind, it's a Cubone." Jessie said. Misty looked at her as if she had sprouted a second head. "What? Are you nuts? That is NOT a Cubone!" Misty yelled. Jessie pouted and glared at the twerpette. "Hey! I never said it was! It's just..." Jessie stammered, "I mean...w-well just look at it! Doesn't it remind you of a Cubone? Maybe that's why Edward has a Pikachu looking monster. These... these monsters are supposed to be his warped versions of Pokémon." Misty still thought Jessie was crazy. Then she took a closer look at the skull-headed creature. The more she looked at it, the more she saw what Jessie was trying to say. The lizard-like skull, the small body, the knife that substituted for a Cubone's club... "It's like... some twisted version of Cubone," Jessie explained a disturbed undertone in her voice. Misty nodded as she realized this. "Yeah..." Misty replied as she thought about all the creatures she had seen while in this horrid town. Now that she thought about it, almost all of them were violent reinterpretations of Pokémon. Drapion. Absol. Cubone. Muk. Garchomp. Scyther. Ariados. Machop. Pikachu. But… what was that creature earlier? She had never seen a creature like it before, nor were there any creatures that resembled it. Especially ones with six arms. "All those creatures... it's like some sicko's idea of Pokémon," Misty said. Jessie nodded. "Markham's notes did say that the creatures from long ago were manifestations of Alessa's mind. But why do Edward's creature's look like nightmare versions of Pokémon?" Jessie asked. Misty sighed. "I don't know... But no sane mind could create these things," Misty said. However, she had a nasty feeling that she'd find out the real reason soon enough.

...

"Ok, enough screwing around! GUT HIM!" Edward shouted, a lot more agitated than he had been before. The Cubone monster had its back to the stadium wall and braced itself for its 'Father's' next order. The Ariados monster ran towards the knife-wielding monster like a Tauros, its back blades ready to impale. Ash had just come up with a strategy. He waited until just the right time to say "DODGE!" The knife-wielder rolled out of the way just in time. The spider couldn't stop in time and its blades buried themselves in the wall again. Edward cursed aloud as the spider struggled to drag itself away from the wall. Ash issued another without missing a beat. "Now use Cut on one of those top blades! Cut it off!" Ash ordered. Misty blinked. Did Ash just say that? The skull-headed child was eager to obey. Grabbing one of the 'legs' attached to the spider's back, it began to hack away at the flesh with its knife. The Ariados Monster roared in pain as the Cubone creature cut through the leg. "Get him off you!" Edward bellowed, a lot less composed than he had been before the fight. _SCHLICK_ _!_ One of the legs on the creature's back was severed clean off. Roaring in rage, the spider creature loosed its other back leg and took a swipe at the smaller creature. The skull-headed child ducked just in time and ran away from the reach of the blades. The freed and furious spider monster hissed at the distant adversary. It's back only had one blade leg and a severed, bloodless stump. "CHEATER!" Edward roared, "After I'm done with that Cubone, I'll cut you up like a Christmas turkey! SLASH!" The demonic Ariados charged forward, its bloodied blades ripping the ground apart. The one blade on its back swung wildly around, ready to decapitate the smaller creature.

 _"Daddy...?"_ The Cubone monster asked. Ash smiled. "Wait for it..." Ash said. Misty looked at Ash. The look in his eye was one she had seen before, a look of sheer determination. The look he had at every tournament battle. Was he really viewing this as just another challenge? The idea made her shiver. The spider monster was almost on top of the Cubone monster. The creature's fanged mouth roared with bloodlust and rage. It raised its two forelegs, ready to impale the skull-headed child. "Roll under it!" Ash suddenly yelled. The twisted Cubone quickly obeyed, rolling right under the spider monster just as it brought its blades down. Ash's monster ducked between the two back legs of Edward's monster, coming out right behind it. "Now cut off that other leg!" Ash ordered. Jessie and Misty's eyes shrank as they hear this. "What!?" Misty yelled. She definitely didn't mishear that. "NO!" Edward screamed, "KILL IT BEFORE IT..." Too late. The skull-headed creature leaped onto the spider's back and began slicing through the other leg. Soon, with a sickening noise, the other leg fell off and the monstrous Ariados was left with a bare back. The monstrous Cubone still clutched the creature tightly with its claws. Ash smirked, seeing victory in his grasp. "Now finish it!" Ash coldly and yet happily ordered. It gave Misty and Jessie chills.

 _"Yes, Daddy!"_ The skull-headed child jabbed its knife into the spider's back, cutting deeper and deeper with every hit. The Ariados monster roared with agony as the knife gouged it's hidden painfully. "Nononononononono shake it off shake it off shake it off!" Edward panicked. The spider monster began to wildly buck and spin, trying to shake off the attacking creature. The creature was able to hold on and continued to stab the monster. 'Ariados' shrieked in pain and desperately tried to force the smaller monster off, but its legs couldn't hit the thing on its back without it losing its balance. The skull-headed creature was ready to deliver the final blow for Daddy. It raised the knife above its head, ready to bring it down... When the spider monster was able to throw it off. The surprised skull monster rolled away and found that its knife was no longer with it. "Oh no!" Ash yelled in horror. He was momentarily scared of losing this fight. Edward's face was an edifice of rage and hatred. "Now destroy! Wait... what?" He said, but then he became scared. The spider monster was teetering unsteadily, not moving with the ferocious speed it used to. The reason was because the 'Cubone's' knife had embedded itself in the beast's head. The monster stumbled unsteadily before falling to the ground, its blades clattering uselessly. It didn't get up.

The skull-headed monster started dancing like a little kid after winning the softball match. Misty and Jessie nearly got up and cheered until they remembered where they were and what had really happened. "NOOOOOOO! ARIADOS!" Edward yelled, "I... I CAN'T LOSE! I'M THE CHAMP! I'M THE EMPEROR! THIS... THIS HAS TO BE A MISTAKE!" Edward was freaking out now as he looked upon the dead spider creature. "YEEEEES!" Ash yelled as he pumped his fist in victory, "I WON! I KILLED... wait..." His joyful expression quickly faded as the adrenaline wore off and the reality of what had just happened sunk it. The skull-headed 'Cubone' monster turned to look at Ash. "Did I do good, Daddy? Did I?" It asked with a hopeful tone. Ash stared at the abomination with confusion. "Uh..." Ash let out. He had no idea how to respond. His mouth had gone completely dry and he felt a chill running down his spine. Did he _enjoy_ what just happened? What was he supposed to do now? Edward's enraged voice brought him out of his reverie. "You... YOU! YOU DID THIS! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! I... I SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE! YOU'RE A CHEATER! I'm the champ! You cheated! You'll never beat me! NEVER!" The boy yelled. He turned to his other 'Pokémon'. "MACHOP! GARCHOMP! ABSOL! SCYTHER! PIKACHU! GO GET HIM!" Edward ordered in rage, pointing his bloody finger at the boy. However, the monsters did nothing. Edward was surprised by this.

"What? GUYS, GO AFTER HIM! HE'S RUINING EVERYTHING!" Edward ordered. They looked away from him and began leaving. Edward froze for a second before running after them. "Guys, where are you going? Why are you leaving me?!" Edward asked, confused and scared. The 'Pikachu' monster stopped and looked at its master. _"We don't take orders from you now,"_ The monster said in a distorted voice, _"We only take orders from the Emperor."_ Edward was struck by this as he stopped. "But I am the Emperor!" Edward yelled terrified. The mouse growled. _"No... He defeated you. He has shown that he is stronger. You don't deserve to live,"_ The mouse explained, walking into the shadows. Edward rushed to him. "NO! PIKACHU! DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!" Edward cried, tears coming from his eyes. But it was too late, the mouse was in the shadows, and when the boy grabbed at the area, his hand hit a wall. Edward looked at his hands and began to cry. He fell to his knees and then leaned to ground. He began punching it in anger as he cried. Ash looked at Edward, a cold expression on him. "You've lost. There's nothing you can do. Now give me the key," Ash said, trying to make the man feel better. Ash began walking towards Edward. However, Edward quickly glared at him, however, his eyes were now purple and his pupil was silted. **"Get away from me!"** Edward growled in rage. Barbed wire sprouts out of the floor and blocked off the half of the stadium floor Edward was on. Edward got up and began running towards the stands on the opposite side. Ash was shocked by this. "Wait! That key... I need that key!" Ash yelled as he gave chase, running past the skull-monster and the spider's corpse. Misty and Jessie bolted from their seats and started running after Edward as well. The skull-headed child stared at the chase for a moment before darting into the shadows.

"You're not getting it, you cheater! It's mine! It's MINE!" Edward screamed in rage. He was running up towards the announcer's box, going up a lot faster than humanly plausible. Ash ran faster. He _needed_ that key from him. "Get back here!" Ash roared. Edward ran into the door to the announcer's box before opening it and shutting himself in. With a click, the door locked with Edward and the key inside. "NO!" Ash snarled, banging his fist on the door. Jessie and Misty then showed up beside him. Ash glared through the glass at the smug psycho dangling the key on his finger. "You want this, huh? Well, cheaters don't get what they want!" Edward mocked Ash from inside the announcer booth.

Suddenly a white light appeared around Edward and his body changed. His hair became a dark green, long and parted like a coconut tree, his clothes changed to a strange tight body black suit with a skirt shorts combo; black, fingerless gloves and boots; a black top that only covered his chest and had a 'v' on the back with three large dots, and he wore a headband with a triangle that had three large dots. "I'll recover from the heavy blow you gave me and then finally make you pay. Then they'll see that I'm STRONGER! THEN I'LL GET PIKACHU BACK!" The man said tears fell as he painfully smiled. However, his voice was much more feminine making it was hard to tell if the 'man' was a man anymore. Ash Ketchum was ready to smash through the glass and strangle Edward. That key was the one that would get him to his father. That psycho would pay for this. Ash ran into the door again, but the locked door held firm. "Hah! You want it, come and..." Edward began mocking. **CLANK rattle rattle rattle.** "What?" Edward and Ash said at once. That noise came from inside the announcer booth. Edward whirled around to see the metal grating of an air vent rattling on the floor. The air vent had another of the skull-headed monsters crawling through it. _"Daddy's mad and you'll be sorry!"_ It hissed, brandishing its knife. It then landed on the ground. Another one followed. And another. And another. Edward realized what was going on. "G-get back! I'm Daddy! You shouldn't hurt your daddy!" Edward pleaded.

The monsters hissed, _"You're not daddy! Daddy hates you! Daddy wants you destroyed!"_ Edward's eyes shrank in fear. "St-stay back! I'm the Emperor! I'm… I'm…" Edward yelled as he looked around for a weapon.

 _"You're no emperor! You're ugly! YOU SHOULD'VE BE DESTROYED LONG AGO!"_ The monsters yelled as they ran towards Edward. Edward turned towards the door and began twisting the nob. "Come on! Come on! OPEN!" He yelled as the creatures came closer. One of the Cubone monsters soon leaped onto his back and started hacking with its knife. Edward and Ash screamed in pain and began teetering. Another monster grabbed Edward's leg and gouged out his ankle. Ash and Edward screamed in pain as they fell to the ground. Misty rushed over to Ash and began checking him, but there were no wounds on him. The other little demons were upon Edward in a heartbeat, stabbing their small knives into the crazed boy's skin. Edward and Ash screamed in pain as the creatures cut into their prey. Edward glowed red as he lets out a monstrous roar. The skull-headed monsters screamed as they were absorbed into the larger beast. The man's body began to morph as large arms sprout of the 'man's' sides and a long pointed tail sprouted out of its butt. The creature's body increased in size and a hole formed in the creature's chest. Its hair soon shifted into a ponytail and it lost its eyes. The monster roared once the transformation was complete. Jessie gasped as she realized it was the same creature from Markham's house. The creature lets out another roar of pain as it breathed out the fire. Ash and the others stepped back as the door burned up. The monster soon punched the door and it fell to the ground. The gang was horrified by the ugly monstrosity that was in front of them. Although Edward was now that horrifying creature, the wound he had sustained as a 'human' were still on him. They were slowly healing, but they doubt the creature could survive for long. Edward began walking out of the door, while more skull-children came out of the vent. The skull children soon stood and stare at Hyde as it walked up to Ash.

How could this… thing be still alive? They all wonder as the creature weakly let out a moan. Ash grunted as he got up. "E-Edward? A-are… are you okay?" Ash asked the creature. He could feel everything the monster was feeling and it hurt a lot. _"D-daddy… Was I a good boy?"_ The six-armed creature asked, sounding just like one of the skull-headed creatures. Ash and the others blinked. "E-Edward?" Ash asked, confused. However, before they could do anything, the creature soon fell forward, causing Ash to catch it in his arms. "E-EDWARD!? Come on, wake up! Don't scare me like this!? I… I don't know what's going on, but please don't die!" Ash yelled. He didn't know what to do with the thing. He could still feel it breathing, but it was clear this… this thing wasn't going to last any longer. The creature looked at him. Ash gulped. _"Daddy… I… I hope I made you proud. I… I just want us to be a family again,"_ The creature let out with a smile. Suddenly, the creature glowed red and Ash has encompassed him. Misty and Jessie had to step away as the light hurt them like an electric barrier. Ash closed his eyes and let out a scream of pain. His friends covered their eyes as they tried to figure out what was going on. The skull children looked at the light and 'oohed'. After a long while, the light faded and Ash was on the ground, panting and gasping for air. Misty lowered her arms and gasped in shock as she looked at her friend. The boy was back to looking like how he normally was. She had no idea of what happened, what happened to Edward, nor why Eddie did this, but she was kind of glad Ash was back to looking like Ash. 'Hopefully, this means he'll be acting like how he should be now.' Misty thought. Ash grunted as he touched his chest. He could hear his heart beating like mad. Suddenly a small green lizard creature appeared in Ash's mind. It had the mouth of an eel, had two baby arms and two baby legs that all acted as legs, large red eyes, a long tail, and spikes on its back. He shocked the image away.

Ash opened his eyes, however, they were pure red. Misty and Jessie shivered in fear as the boy looked at them. "T-twerp, are… are you alright?" Jessie asked. Ash let out a soft chuckle as he walked towards them. Misty gulped. Suddenly Ash grabbed Misty's arm. "Lucy…" He managed to say. Misty shivered at this. She soon remembered the last time he had called her that. 'Stay calm, Misty. If he notices your fear, he'll go berserk again,' Misty thought. Ash leaned closer, ready to kiss her. Jessie wants to make fun of the two but she knew something was wrong with Ash. "Love me…" Ash whispered. Misty was confused and scared as she stepped back. "A-ash, please. G-get a hold of yourself. We have to save Henry, remember," Misty said, trying to make him snap out of this. Ash growled. "Forget about him. You don't need him. You have me," Ash said, his voice becoming louder and angrier. Misty became even more confused but soon remembered that Edward was trying to stop them from getting Henry. Misty growled. "Edward, get out of Ash! I know it's you! Only you would say such horrible things about Henry! Because he's everything you wished you were! Now let Ash be Ash!" Misty yelled. She soon slapped the boy with her free hand. Ash held his cheek with his free hand. He soon began breathing heavily. He soon tightened his grip on Misty's arm. She grunted in pain as he did this. Ash noticed this and soon let's go of her. He soon held his head. It was pounding like a war drum. Suddenly he began to hear voices.

' _Mommy, get the monster away from me!'_

' _Such a hideous beast. It should be killed.'_

' _Delia should be ashamed she has to deal with you.'_

Ash growled as all of his thoughts were replaced by instinct.

' _Go away, we don't need you here.'_

' _You're no hero.'_

' _I HATE YOU!'_

Ash soon let out a monstrous roar and then glared at Misty. A dark shadow soon surrounded his body. Suddenly, for a brief moment, Ash had been replaced by Pyramid Head. Misty and Jessie became terrified. Ash then grabbed Misty by the throat with his left hand. He lifted his pipe up, ready to attack her when Jessie grabbed his arm. Ash snarled at the woman. Jessie gulped in terror but stood her ground. "T-twerp, get a hold of yourself. This isn't you. You don't hurt your friends. You're much nicer than this. I don't know what's wrong with you, but I know you hate this too. We'll save Henry and the others then we'll help you. Just… calm down," Jessie said. Ash breathed heavily as his eyes returned to normal. Ash let's go of Misty and held his head as he regained control over himself. "You feeling better now?" Jessie asked as Misty gasped for air. Ash soon sighed and looked at her. "Y-yes. I'm… I'm sorry about that. I'm… I'm just not feeling like myself," He said although he was scared of what just happened. Soon a skull-headed child walked right up to the stymied Ash. The creature held up a key ring with a single key. The key to the basement. Edward must've dropped it while he was transforming. Thankfully, it wasn't destroyed. Ash didn't move for a moment. What was he supposed to do now? These monsters basically slaughtered a person for him. Plus, what was going on with him? What did that light do to his mind? Did Edward really take over like what Misty said? Where was Edward and why was he acting like one of the skull monsters? And why was all this happening to him?

'Henry.' Ash thought. With fingers shaking and teeth clenched, Ash slowly took the key ring from the creature's bloodless hand. Misty and Jessie just stared, not knowing what to do or say. Glancing at the key, Ash thought about all the insanity he had gone through in this damn town. All the monsters, the deaths, the nightmares. All so he could rescue his father. And now, he was closer than ever to that goal. He would NOT fail. Ash backed away from the creature, silently telling Jessie and Misty to follow him. They did so. The skull-headed child just looked at Ash with a puzzled expression on its face. Soon the three humans were running. Running towards the back of the stadium, towards the basement, towards their kidnapped friends and Rose, towards the end of this nightmare. They hoped. Meanwhile, the small creature watched them disappear and let out a sad sigh. Poor Daddy didn't know what he was in for down there.

…

'Henry' let out a laugh as the cage around him disappeared and he landed on the platform he was on. He smirked as he rubbed his wrists. Tracy and James were confused. What was going on? 'Henry' smirked as he stretched. "So Edward has finally fallen. All that's left is for Ash to see is the truth. Whether or not he's ready, I don't care anymore," 'Henry' said. He then picked up his glasses and he adjusts them. "H-Henry, wh-what's going on? What do you mean Edward has fallen? How do you know? And what truth?" Tracy asked, very confused. Henry sighed as he looked down. "You will find out soon enough. However, I doubt you will ever forgive Ash and me once you learn," Henry said, then smirked, "Soon, all will be revealed." Tracy and the others couldn't know but a dark aura began forming around her.

…

Back with the gang, Ash didn't stop running for a fraction of a second. The boy bolted down the hallway leading to the basement door like a thunderbolt. Jessie and Misty could barely keep up. The boy ran heedlessly of the corpses scattered through the halls, stepping in the blood on more than one occasion. He didn't seem to notice them. He only saw the doorway. The doorway that led to his captured father and friends. "Hey, wait up Twerp!" Jessie cried out. Misty sighed. "Save your breath, Jessie." Misty said as she gasped for breath while she quickly avoided tripping over the murdered custodian, "Ash isn't stopping anytime soon." Ash ran right into the locked door and swiftly grabbed the key ring from his pocket. His hands shaking with tension, he eventually managed to get the key into the lock and twist. With a small click, the door unlocked. Ash nearly snapped the door off its hinges as he entered. The basement of Yoka Village Colosseum was...well, a basement. There was honestly nothing remarkable about it, except for a few spare pylons and grid-marking tools scattered on the floor. Ash looked around frantically in the entrance before deciding to go in deeper. He nearly tripped over several basketballs as he made his way to the other end of the poorly-lit basement. By the time Jessie and Misty got to the basement door, Ash had already vanished into the back of the cellar. They could hear him, however. The boy was yelling in anger and frustration very loudly at the back. Jessie and Misty turned on their flashlights, illuminating the shadowy walls of the stadium basement.

On the far end of the wall was Ash Ketchum banging on a door in pure rage. The door looked incredibly out of place in the bland basement. It was cast iron, slightly reddened with rust. Instead of a doorknob and lock on the side, there was some sort of wheel mechanism in the center with rods all around locking the door in place. Ash tried, not for the first time, to turn the wheel with no success. Ash snarled loudly, his voice sounding more like a monster's than his own. He did NOT come all this way, risking the life and sanity of him and his friends to be stopped by a locked door! He would NOT let this stinking door. "Ash, c-calm down. We don't want you attacking us again," Misty retort, reminding him and herself of what happened a few minutes ago. She had hoped that since he had gotten the key, his insane anger would calm down. Ash glared at them and for a brief moment, Pyramid appeared as his shadow. Ash soon sighed and looked at the door. Shame soon covered his face. "I-I… I'm sorry Misty. I… I'm just scared. We're right where everyone is and…" Ash began to say, but soon noticed something that got his attention. It was an indentation on the wheel, a circular hole for something. Likely some sort of key. The shape seemed somewhat familiar... Ash dug into his pockets and took out the pocket picture he had picked up at Markham's house. The one labeled 'Father' with the picture of the man who looked like Edward. He looked at it and the impression in the door. It was the same size and shape. Without question, Ash thrust the picture into the hole. A perfect fit, judging by the _KLANK_ that grabbed the wheel and turned it again. The wheel moved and rods holding the door to the wall all shifted, unlocking the door. Ash pushed hard and nearly fell into the room behind the door. The boy picked himself up and started running into the hallway. Misty and Jessie sighed and ran after him almost immediately, not wanting to lose sight of her friend.

Ash looked through the hallway as he ran. It was pure white with four square indents in the walls with markings under them. At the end of the hallway was a door with the same symbol on Ash's arms. Ash smirked as he stopped in front of the door. "Okay, one more door and …huh?" Ash said, however, before he could open the door, he noticed there was a note on said door. Misty and Jessie stopped once they reached Ash and began panting. "T-twerp, is something wrong? Why did you stop?" Jessie asked as she looked at the boy. Ash picked up the note and began to read it out loud. _"The time has come to for truth to be shed. It's time for this charade to end. However, before you go and meet your fate, the 'holes' in your memories must be filled. Truths you've locked away from your mind by a deceiver. One who doesn't want you to know the real you, receiver. If you choose, these truths can be ignored and you can let events play. However, the consequences could lead to your last day. So choose wisely, the truth awaits. But don't worry, your friends are forced to wait,"_ The note said in a riddle.

Ash blinked. "What the? Is this another riddle?" Ash asked. He looked back at the holes. "Are these holes this thing talks about?" Ash asked himself. He sighed. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to just go in and free everyone. But something told him that these memories were just as important. "Looks like it. Although, the note also says we can just ignore them if you want to. However, if this note says these memories will somehow save our friends, maybe we should look into them," Jessie said. Misty nodded. Ash looked at the note again. "Yeah… maybe you're right. F-for now let's just look at the holes first and see if we can figure them out." Ash said. The others nodded. Ash took a deep breath as he walked to the first hole in the wall that he had passed. He soon began reading the words written under it. _"Eyes gleamed over, it stalks before striking, its tail wags in anticipation."_ It said. Ash thought the words over in his head. The square shaped hole was just the right size for him to place in one of the tiles he had gotten from the cottage. He assumed the riddle meant that he had to put one of them in the slot. Ash carefully looked inside of his backpack and went over the selection he had: A bird, a snake, a cat and a fish. 'This riddle has to do with the Meowth title, doesn't it?' Ash asked himself thinking the clue over. He carefully grabbed the tile and gently placed it into the hole in the wall. The tile began to glow white, spreading out from it was in. Ash took a step back as he watched the plate spread out before him. The light faded away, revealing a door in its place. Jessie and Misty let out a 'whoa' before they noticed the tiles in his backpack.

"Whoa. Ash, where did you get those tiles?" Misty asked, unsure what had happened. Ash looked at them. "Well, when I was about to face Alessa. There were these doors to the sides, four to be precise…huh… kind of like these four holes. Well, I guess if I hadn't gone in every door, I wouldn't have been able to find these items and thus couldn't complete this 'puzzle'." Ash said. The two girls nodded. "Anyways, let's see what these 'truths' are," Jessie said. Misty nodded. Ash turned back to the door. He carefully opened the door, looking inside. It was a single room, almost like a closet. Four solid walls with no description to them, yet he felt compelled to go inside. He and the girls walked into the dark room, Jessie closed the door behind them. Suddenly the group's flashlights went out on their own, freaking the gang out. As Jessie and Misty reached out to try and figure out what had happened to them, the room was filled with the purple light. However, instead of ghostly images appearing in front of them, projected on the walls was an image of Ash's mother and a woman who looked like a receptionist. They wondered if this was like a movie. "Woah. This… is very strangely." Misty said. Ash and Jessie nodded. They knew these had to be memories, however, they weren't expecting them to be represented like this. Suddenly the image began to move.

…

"Room 317... That's his room, right?" Delia asked a receptionist once she was done looking at a reservation sheet. Ash was hiding behind a pillar. He looked at the receptionist, who was smiling. "Yes, Misses Ketchum, that's where Mr. Ketchum is. But… why is this important?" The woman asked. Delia nervously chuckled. "Oh, Mr. Ketchum is my husband. I haven't seen him since he went on his journey, so when I learned he was here, I thought I would come and drop by. Of course, if he's still here." Delia said. The receptionist sighed. "Sorry, Miss, but he isn't here at the moment. I think he went out to get some items for some kind of study. Come back later, okay," The woman said. Delia sighed. "Okay," She said, then walked away. Ash waited until his mother was out of the building before he began moving. He sneaked around the staff and went to the trainer's quarters. Ash went up the stairs until he found room 317. "Yes! Daddy's room! Now I can finally meet him once he comes back!" Ash yelled, very happy. He grabbed the door knob but found it locked. Ash blinked before growling. He soon began banging on the door. "Let me in! Let me in!" Ash screamed. Suddenly he heard a small chuckle. Ash turned to his left and saw a man standing near the entrance of the staircase. He was a tall man, he had long unkempt and curly dark brown hair, he didn't look like he had gotten a good bath in at least a week, and wore a frumpy white shirt and black dress pants. Ash blinked and then became embarrassed. "S-sorry, I… I hope I wasn't upsetting you. I… I was just trying to go in this room. I… I wanted to surprise the man that lives here. I-I'm Ash Ketchum," Ash apologized. The man put on a smile.

"It's okay. It's okay. I won't tell anyone that you were here. But… I guess you did surprise me," The man said. Ash blinked and then looked at the man again. He did look a little bit like the boy. "D-daddy?" Ash asked. The man paused for a moment before patting Ash on the head. "Ah, you must be Delia's son. I've heard much about you from your father, in fact, you look so much like him. Unfortunately, I am simply your father's brother, Henry Ketchum," The man explained. Ash became disappointed at first but soon became excited. "Y-your daddy's brother? Then… then that means you're my uncle right? You know all about daddy right?" Ash said, very excited. Henry was shocked to hear this. "Delia… never told you about me or what happened to your father?" Henry asked. Ash shocked his head. "No. Never. Dad left when I was really young, so she didn't get to learn much," Ash said. The man soon confused. "Oh, I would have guessed. Still, that's such a horrible thing for her to do since she is his wife, she would know about… certain quirks about us. However, before I take you inside, I have to ask. What happened to my dear old dad? When I had visited him earlier today he said that I had already visited him and I was the reason he was in the sanitarium. Obviously, that can't be the case because I haven't seen him in years," He asked. Ash soon looked down in shame. "G-grandpa… he… he attacked me by using funny smells when new year struck. The police stopped him but… grandpa hasn't been the same. I… I went to him a few days ago to see what happened but… but that place is horrible! I never want to go there again! The yells, the screams, the… the monsters that are tied up in those weird shirts! It was so scary! And… and then grandpa yelled at me! He… he called me a monster. And… and… called me Henry… but… why would he mistake me for you? And… why does he have to be so mean!?" Ash asked. He soon began crying. The man soon hugged the little boy and smiled. "Don't worry, Ash. I don't see you as a monster. I know you are something special. After all, there's no way a father would just mistake you for me if there wasn't something special," He said.

After a few seconds, Ash stopped crying and looked at the man. "R-really?" Ash asked. Henry nodded as he let go of Ash. He soon opened the door. "Yes. Now come this way, I have a lot to talk about." Henry said. He smiled as he turned and walked into the room. Ash smiled. "Yeah!" Ash yelled as he happily followed the man inside. Ash was a little shocked seeing the place. "So… this is daddy's place. It's… messier than I thought." Ash said as he looked around the room. Henry took a seat on one of the lower beds. The room was a simple Pokémon center room with two bunk beds next to each other and a table next to a window and a closet, however, there were many books all over the place. Ash soon sat across from his uncle. Henry chuckled. "Yeah. Your father has been studying our religion and Pokémon. He's a big part of the Valtiel section of the church and a Pokémon trainer. While he's unregistered right now, he's learning a lot about the creatures to get better. But of course, I have my own… specialty as well. However, your father and my dad never liked it and saw me as a monster… just like you…" Henry said, kind of sad at the end. This catches Ash's attention. "R-really?" Ash asked. Henry nodded, although he looked very upset at this fact. "Yes. In fact, your dear daddy still thinks I'M your actual father. He thinks that a 'hideous beast like Ash' must come from me. There's obviously no way HE could create such an ugly monster," Henry said, exaggerating his voice when he was mocking his brother.

Ash held himself and looked away in shame. "He… he really thinks that?" Ash asked, very nervous. The little boy only knew his father left his family about a few months after he was born, so he didn't know anything about the man. Henry nodded. "Yes. But obviously that can't be the case, I was never into your mother, nor would she love me…" Henry said then looked down in sadness. Ash felt bad for his uncle. He soon got up and sat next to the man. "I love you, Uncle," Ash said with a warm smile. Henry looked at the boy and smiled as well. "I love you too, Ash…" He said. He soon kissed Ash on the forehead. Ash was confused by this but accepted it since his mom kissed him on the checks a lot when she was really proud of him, so this had to be the same thing. Ash soon remembered that the man said there was something special about him. "Uncle… you said there was something special about me. Something that made Grandpa, not like me and made him think I was you. But… I don't get it. He and Dad didn't think of me like that before. They used to read bedtime stories to me and they loved me… but… but now they don't… and then mom found out about the stories and say they're bad…and… then fought with them…and… and it's… it's all my fault! That's why those bullies call me mean names and why I have to fight them! It's my fault!" Ash cried, hugging the man. He only vaguely remembered his father reading the stories. Henry sighed and hugged the boy.

"Ash, it's okay. The part about the stories isn't your fault. It's a proud tradition in our family to read those old stories to young ones for them to be a part of our religion. However, your mom isn't into that and that's okay. It's just their fault they can't compromise with her. However, those stories aren't why they hate you. They aren't the main reason she fought with them. It's because she doesn't like our religion and to be honest, and honestly neither do I. I just… I want to be free. Not listen to what the church says and just be happy with Pokémon. Dad and your dad just never understood this notion. While they love Pokémon, they still are heavily into the church's beliefs. As for you being special, well… I want to tell you. But if I do, your mother would probably get mad at me. She would probably say, 'What? You meet your uncle and he told you THAT. Well, OBVIOUSLY he's lying. You're just a normal boy. Now let's forget about it, okay'." Henry mocked.

Ash giggled. "Yeah. Mom can be a worry wart like that. But, why would she say you're lying?" Ash asked, confused at the end. Henry chuckled as his face became a bit darker. "Oh, you'll learn. However, I think I should take you to my 'special' friend's house. The one I go to for parties and other fun things. There, I will tell you why your mother doesn't want you to know the truth. Not only about us but of our great-great-great-great-great grandpa. The one who caused both of us to carry this special power." Henry said. Ash's eyes widen. "Y-you're just like me? Y-you have a monster in you?" Ash asked as he remembered when he attacked grandpa and his mother. His mom told him that it was caused by a monster inside of him while his grandpa just says he was just a monster. "Technically, everyone has a monster inside of them. However, we're special than other people. But if you are truly afraid of the monster, I will help you. You just need to come with me to the fun house," Henry said. Ash smiled. "Yes! Yes! YES!" Ash yelled, "Take me there!" Henry chuckled and ruffled Ash's hair. "Alright. Alright. I'll take you there." He said. Ash cheered in glee as Henry and Ash got up. Soon they walked out of the room.


	26. Chapter 25

Ch. 25

 **(Hi guys. I am BACK! Sorry this took so damn long. My computer isn't working so I have to use my phone and OH My God is it terrible! Hardly any room to write, hard to back track to specific words and dumb autocorrect. Ugh. And not only is working on a phone a pain, I had to rewrite this chapter So many times and I still have a long way to go before the the flashbacks end. Ugh. Well, I hope you like it. I worked very hard on it.)**

After a brief bit of silence, the group's flashlights turned back on. However, the gang was unsure of what the vision meant. Ash knew that something bad was going to happen in the next few visions based off the visions he saw when he met Alessa, but wasn't sure what was going to happen. But, there was something none of them understood. "Hey Twerp, why does your dad and uncle have the same name?" Jessie vocally said what was on their minds. Ash scratched his head. "Honestly, I have no idea. But there has to be a reason Grandpa would do that. Hopefully the next few visions will clear things up," He said. Misty was very concerned when she heard that. "But how come you don't remember having an uncle, Ash? And what's the truth that note talked about? Speaking of the note, who put that there? It couldn't had placed there by Edward. He was adamant on not letting us through." Misty pondered.

"Maybe it's that Pyramid Head. After all, he was separate from Edward before that ceremony, and now the monster is gone. I don't know how he escaped from being in Edward, but now he can do whatever he wants. It's probably why everything is still weird and didn't shift back to the regular world." Ash explained as he thought of everything. Jessie and Misty nodded, that made the most sense, but it also scared them. What was going to happen next now Pyramid Head was in charge? Ash then smiled. "Anyways, if I am right, I'm going to make him turn everything back to normal. I… I don't think he can save everyone who fell from Edward and the monsters attacks, but we'll be back in our world. I …I think the fog area and this… _otherworld_ are the same world it's just, we're not in our world anymore." Ash said as he figured more of what was happening. Jessie quickly realized what the boy was talking about while Misty was quite confused by what he said. "Ash, what on Earth are you talking about?" She asked. Ash turned to her. "Well, it may sound crazy but Jessie and I have experienced something like this before, however, I didn't think Xuchilbara was as powerful as Palkia and Dialga. But I cannot ignore the possibility anymore. Anyway, back when I was traveling with Dawn and Brock, we went to a town that became envelope by a strange fog and nobody could get out of the town, we couldn't use our Pokeballs and Pokemon that were asleep had a ghost like version of themselves floating around. We had assumed it was being caused by a Pokemon named Darkrai but we were all wrong. It was actually being caused by a very powerful Pokemon named Palkia, which can control Space. It had taken the town into a pocket dimension which was why all those weird things were going on. I think the same thing has happened to this town but this time it's being caused by the guardian and underneath the town's dimension is the guardian's world nurse Joy was talking about. And now the town has been completely been replaced by the otherworld." Ash explained. Misty gasped in shock. "But how come nobody notice that?" She asked.

"It probably was by using that siren and Edward being crazy to distract us and everyone else from the change. But there's something I don't get. How come we could go to the other side of the lake? The last time this happened, we couldn't even cross the bridge out of town." Jessie asked.

"Well, I think it's because last time, Palkia was injured. If it wasn't, I'm sure it could put the whole world into another world." Ash explained. Jessie and Misty nodded, understanding his logic. However, it felt weird for their friend to sound so smart and to realize what was going on now. Misty sighed. "Well, we better get going now. There are still visions to see," The gym leader said. The two nodded and they all walked back into the hallway. Jessie shut the door behind them while Ash walked up to the next hole. _'It flops in the air. It is weak and tries to look for a way out, but it finds none.'_ The note asked. Ash immediately knew it was a Magikarp. He grabbed the tile out of his backpack and put it in the wall. Suddenly the tile shocked and then glowed. It quickly transformed into another door. The young trainers gulped and went inside. The area looked almost exactly like the previous room, however, this time the walls were painted to look like it was the inside of a cottage. The group closed the door behind them and their flashlights turned off, the room glowed purple and the projector turned on and shine on the wall.

….

"Ash, wake up. We're here." Henry's voice said as Ash yawned. The boy sat up from laying on the back seats of the car, unbuckled himself, and then open the car door as Henry got out. The boy rubbed his head as he remembered falling asleep in his uncle's car as the drove to the fun house they had been talking about earlier. As the grade school boy got out of the car, he quickly notice they were pretty deep in the woods. "Uncle Henry, where is here?" The Little boy asked. Henry smiled as he walked to the boy. "The fun house my friend owns, of course. Don't worry, we're only a few miles from town. Besides, nobody could make a house deeper into these woods." Henry said. The little boy smiled and then looked at the house. The group watching the video gasped in shock as the house looked exactly like the cabin house they had previously had been in. It was even in a similar location. However, the little boy didn't know what the viewers know as he walked into the building with Henry. The front entrance was the exact same as that other building, however, the two males simply walked through to the other side. However, instead of the horrors older Ash had seen, there was just a simple cottage living room on the other side. The were chairs, a couple of tables at the corners, and a couch to the left. What stood out the most was a painting on the right wall. The current gang froze in fear as they realize the painting was 'Misty day remains of the Judgement'. The young boy looked at the painting in confusion. "What are those weird box things behind that buff guy?" The young boy question. Henry looked at the painting and face palmed himself. "Ash, it's just a dumb painting your father has. It's not important. Now sit on the couch. We have a lot to talk about." Henry said with a smile. The boy was curious why anyone would have a painting like that in their living room, but ignored it and went over to the couch and sat down. Henry quickly sat next to his Nephew. Ash smiled and held his uncle's arm. "Yeah, I have so many questions." Ash said. Henry chuckled. "Alright, why don't you give the first one?" He said.

"Alright…um… oh! The first one I want to know is why did Mom need to know what room you two were? She knew he was there." Ash asked. Henry sighed and then chuckled. "Well… it's because she hasn't actually talk to your father yet. She only knows that because the Order told her. And I only know that because the Order told me in advance that she was coming, although they didn't explain why." Henry said. Ash tilted his head in confusion. "The Order? What's that?" Ash asked. The Uncle was shocked to hear the boy's confusion and then laughed. "Of course Delia wouldn't tell you about the Order." Henry said before taking in a deep breath, "Well, since she didn't tell you, I will. The Order is the name of the people who worship God. Those stories your father and Grandpa told you are true." Ash was amazed. "Whoa! So all those angels goods were real too!" Ash asked. Henry nodded. "Yes, although, they are very restrictive." Henry said. "It's why I want to get away from it all. But… I can't. Your father won't let me be free."

"But why? Why is dad so mean especially to us? Mom always said he was good and kind and she would never marry a bad man." Ash asked. Henry looked away. He looked conflicted. He shook his head and then looked at Ash. "Maybe it was too protect you… It would explain why she didn't tell you about me… or maybe she saw me as… what am I saying there's no way she would see me as… but she always talked like it was the case and…" Ash looked at his Uncle in confusion. "Uncle, what are you talking about?" Ash asked. Henry snapped out of his case and sighed. "I was just thinking about your father and… maybe the reason she didn't tell you his name was. I assumed it was because she dislike him and wanted to talk to him to try and figure things out why you went crazy. But by the way you talk, she actually… cares about… 'him'." Henry said. "She was right. She wasn't lying to me when she said that she… I had always dismissed it as her trying to keep up an act so you wouldn't lose your father but I was wrong." Ash was extremely confused while the people outside were scratching their heads. Henry shocked his head. "But she can't ignore the fact that I am your uncle, and they will never be what she wanted." Henry said.

"Uncle, what are you talking about? I thought we were going to talk about our monsters and how to help me." Ash asked. Henry sighed and smiled. "It's alright, Ash, I was just thinking to myself again. It's a problem I still need to get rid of. Anyway, I was talking about how Delia doesn't understand her husband as much as she knows me…and how I always thought she didn't truly appreciate or cared about me or your father, just you. But I was wrong and I'm glad about that. A-Anyways, before we discuss our heritage, I want to know what was going on with you a few months ago. I only what happened with Grandpa through the newspaper and the people who are taking care of him." Henry said. Ash looked away. He thought back to incident and held his head. "It all started when the town became all foggy. Grandpa had gone out to talk to his friends and only me and Momma were stuck in the hotel. I tried to go out but momma said there were dangerous Pokemon outside. We had to eat the food in the fridge to survive. I… I was so scared. I wanted to do something, and then… I heard a voice only I could hear. It was a girl and she said that I was a guardian. That if I didn't stop the bad people who were hurting her then things would get worse. I was so happy hearing this that I promised to always protect her… and then… everything became fuzzy. I didn't even know what I had done until… it was too late. The monster took my want to help the girl and everyone else and used it to take control and tried to hurt momma… Does your monster try something like that?" Ash asked as he looked at his Uncle. Henry was shocked to hear this and hugged the boy. "Don't worry, Ash, it's okay. I know you just wanted to help. Your other self just thought he had a good way of doing it. Speaking of him, do you have a name for him and… how long do you remember him being there?" Henry asked.

"Honestly, he has always been in me for as long as I could remember. He just hasn't done anything except make these bad Pokemon go after me and… the incident. He's been mean, weird and actually funny sometimes, but he hadn't hurt anyone till now. As for his name, well, I wanted to call him lizardry since he was a weird lizard Pokemon, but my guardians, Xhas and Luc told me to name it something else. So I thought about it and the name Edward came up and since it liked to hide I named him Edward Hyde. So that's his name. I haven't seen him in my head since that day and I'm scared he'll do something really bad now." Ash said, then looked down and held himself, "But maybe Grandpa was right, dad sees me as a mistake and doesn't want to be with me, and momma's scared of Edward and now doesn't want to admit he's real anymore."

"Ash, snap out of it!" Henry yelled. Ash froze and turned to his Uncle. "Ash, I have no idea who or what Luc or Xhas are. I am sure they're just people you made up as friends, but that doesn't matter, your mother loves you and so do I. And… I was a bit lying about your father. He does love you, more than anything but… he was… scared of what you could become. He wanted you to continue our family tradition and to a Pokemon master, but I got in the way and it caused your father to be confused and unsure of everything. Your father is a… frustrated man and the only thing he knew was that he couldn't go on with living a normal life do to his… weirdness. He craved adventure and to be a Pokemon master and he knew that craving would never go away. He tried his best to stay with you and your mother but… he couldn't do it." Henry said. Ash looked down. He felt conflicted. On the one hand, his father did love him, but on the other he still abandoned him. "Why did you lie?" Ash asked. Henry sighed and looked at the painting. "Because he did hates me for what I did and… It is my fault you are like this. I… I was just not sure how to explain it since… I always wanted you to be my son instead of your father's. I always thought it was unfair that you belonged to my brother and yet… you looked more like me. I wasn't wrong about your father thinking you were actually my son since you didn't look like him at all… but… if he saw you now, I would be sure he would have different opinions." Henry said. Ash smiled. "But you said you, dad, great-great grandpa, and me are all freaks. You didn't explain that or how dad has a monster in him like us." Ash wondered, very confused. Henry chuckled and then sighed.

"Well, I guess we can't ignore it anymore. But the only way I can explain it is in a story. A long time ago, back when this place was called Silent Hill, our ancestor, let's call him Dr. Jekyll, was a smart boy… but his father went crazy like our Grandpa and gassed him. Henry survived but his father was sent to the Sanitarium. Henry then lost his best friend Alessa. He was deeply scared by this and went into medicine to try and cure his father and prevent deaths like his friend. He became apart of the Order to keep his sanity in check and to have help in gaining funds for his work. He gained a few friends and eventually he was a respected doctor. He then made a formula that separated the monster in all of us from ourselves. He thought it would save his father, but the board of Governors refused to give him a subject to use his potion on. He was seen as a mistake and… he was very angry at them. Some time later a monster known as the Executioner began killing the Board of Governors. People outside the Order became scared while the Order became curious. The police questioned Dr. Jekyll, but he claimed he had no idea what it was. It took some time before the Executioner was found out by the Order. They asked the man to join them since they had been suffering for the last few years, and to their surprise, he agreed and became their pride and joy. With the Order's help, he had killed thirteen people, however, when he killed the last of the Board, a woman saw him and identified him as Edward Hyde, a thug who had been making bar fights and sleeping with people, and Jekyll's friends knew he had taken the man as an assistant. Jekyll had to make an announcement to distance himself from the murderer. But… there was no way to stop Edward as he reappeared in a park. He soon disappeared and a few months he reappeared dead in Dr. Jekyll's house. Dr. Jekyll was gone and presumed dead." Henry said.

The little boy was very confused. "But how does great-great Grandpa have a monster in him and… why does my monster has the same name as that bad guy?" Ash asked, scared. Henry soon hugged him. "It's okay, everything is going to be okay… But there was something about that story that I left out. You see, Dr. Jekyll's potion did work but… he used himself as the subject and created Mr. Hyde. Hyde was every terrible thing Dr. Jekyll felt but nobody knew it was him. Our family only lived on because we… we're a result of Mr. Hyde. Now we're cursed to be like Dr. Jekyll and there is nothing we can do." Henry said. Ash gasped in shock. "But why isn't Grandpa like us?" Ash asked.

"Because… it's… it's my fault… you see, for some time, the monsters Dr. Jekyll created were losing power over the body. And Grandpa was the second generation to not change into his monster. I…I messed things up and remade the potion, and I released the monster in me and… your father. I thought it wouldn't be generational since I had changed quite a bit of the formula, but you still weren't right. I'm sorry," He said. Ash hugged him. "It's alright. You didn't mean to like Great-great Grandpa. Even if we're weird it's fine, besides I never turned into some other guy. I'm always just Ash. Even when mean Edward was in control I was still me." Ash said. Henry was surprised to hear that but became quickly happy. He let go of the boy. "I'm glad you don't have to transform when that happens. It really hurts when I and your father do. I'm still sorry for making your Hyde be so powerful. If I hadn't, you could have been the first in our family to not even have a Hyde in your head.. but there is something I don't get. It's your Hyde's name. First off, your other side still has the last name of Hyde despite the fact you knew nothing about our family line. The other thing is… he has the same full name as Great-great Grandpa's other self…and your father's first name. This is quite strange." Henry said.

"Wow! Really, Dad's name is Edward! I didn't know… I… don't remember anything about him except for what I had told you." Ash said as he held himself. He felt excited and scared. Henry gripped his hands as he thought deeply about something. Ash looked away. "I wished I could meet him. He sounded so cool from what momma told me but… he was out when we were at the center. I… I doubt I will ever met him. I… I don't even know if he'll like me. I caused so much pain as Edward that even Xhas and Luc don't know what to do with me. I…I'm so lost! I just want to be with Daddy!" Ash yelled at the end as his emotions flared up. Henry quickly hugged the little boy. "Ash… it's going to be okay. You'll meet him. I promise… in fact… he's here right now." He said, not happy about that. Ash was shocked to hear this. "R-really? I can see Daddy! But the lady at the Pokemon center said that he was getting things for research on something." Ash questioned. Henry slapped his head. "I knew I had forgotten something to get. No wonder he was so mad at me." Henry said. Ash tilted his head in confusion. "Did Daddy ask you to get the things and what is Daddy studying?" Ash asked.

"He's just studying the town and… the incident you were in. When he heard you were involved, he has done everything to figure out why and how this all started, and thank you for telling your side of the story. You were very helpful actually." The Uncle said. The boy sniffled and smiled. "R-really?" He asked. Henry nodded. Suddenly there was a phone ringing that was pretty loud. Henry became confused as he got up. "Wonder who's calling right now. Ash, you stay here. I'm sure it's fine. I can handle myself." The messy man said then walked into one of the doors. Ash looked down and held himself. He took a deep breath and relax. After a few minutes, a man just appeared from nothing as the area around them became blurry. He looked a lot like the boy but older, had long hair, wore old medical clothes, and his eyes were cold. The boy looked up and then looked away. "Hey Xhas, what are you doing here? Did… did I do something wrong? I was just talking to Uncle. We're going to see Daddy." Ash said, excited at the end as he turned to the spirit. The strange man sighed. "No Ash, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just want to make sure your ok." Xhas said, "But… what I really wanted to know is if you should trust him. We barely know the guy. What if he's just trying to trick you? He feels familiar, but we don't know why, especially since we haven't seen him before." Xhas said. Ash growled at the imaginary friend. _'What is he talking about? They don't even remember what Dad looks like. How would they know what I'm feeling?'_ Ashangrilythought _,_ thenshockedhishead _._ "Xhas, Uncle's fine. He's not what you say he is. We can trust him," Ash said as he looked at the man with a smile. However, the man was not pleased. "Ash, I know what you're thinking, I'm inside you. Don't pretend what you thought wasn't important. I know you're scared of this possibility or the fact what he said is true but he's still going to hurt you like what Grandpa did, but if you don't listen to Luc and I, things will only get worse."

Ash growled and then heard the screams of the insane people. The boy froze up and closed his eyes. "No, I…I don't want that… but… but Daddy…" Ash began mumbling out. Suddenly another man appeared. To the surprise of the watchers, the man looked exactly like the man they had met in the lounge. He was glaring at the other man. "Xhas, master is right. We have to trust him for now. Although we don't understand why he feels so familiar, we will ask him when the time is right. Besides the master is frightened. We shouldn't talk about this now." The man said, standing behind Xhas. The older looking man sighed and nodded. Ash smiled and hugged Xhas. "Thanks Luc." The boy said as looked over Xhas's shoulder. Luc smiled and then disappeared. Xhas looked at the boy and touched his hair. "Okay Ash, you can get off me. After all, I'm not here, so when Henry or Daddy comes, I don't want them to see you hugging the couch." Xhas said. Ash blushed and let go. "Anyway, what do you think about us finally meeting Daddy?" Ash asked. Xhas chuckled and looked at the picture. "It'll be nice for sure. I just wished we could remember him properly. Plus I can't help but wonder what this painting is all about. It's weird and for some reason it reminds me of Edward." Xhas said. Ash looked at the monster in the picture and nodded. "Plus Edward maybe the same guy as Great-great Grandpa. He is older than me and I feel like I know all of what happened to him. I just don't remember it." Ash said.

"Maybe you're Dr. Jekyll and Edward and the other pieces of Dark have kept you here in this world. Honestly, I don't know if what I said about you is correct but I know Edward is the same man from long ago. I can feel it in my gut. And from what Hexxus and Yagami said, this isn't the first time that monster has been Edward Hyde." Xhas said. Ash nodded. "But why is he my monster? Plus why are you, Luc, and those meanies here? Uncle, Dad and Dr. Jekyll were alone." Ash asked, confused. Xhas closed his eyes. "You're too young to understand why I'm here, but Luc is just your imaginary friend. As for the other stuff… those two guys have been trapped inside me and I can't get them out. As long as I am here, so are they. But they aren't going to hurt you. So don't worry of them. Edward is the only thing you should be worried about." Xhas said. Ash sighed and nodded. Xhas soon disappeared like Luc. Ash looked at the picture again. "Edward, if you hear me… why are you scared of this thing and… why do I want to agree with you?" The boy asked himself, but there was no answer. The boy grumbled and then sneaked over to the door Henry went into. The boy was worried since Henry wasn't back by now. He opened the door and saw Henry still talking on the phone. "Vlad, don't worry, we'll be fine. We can go back to traveling after Edward… I… I know you're worried about… Vlad, Edward isn't going to stall on this, he's a professional. We'll be out of here in no time. I… we need to stay here a bit longer, I met someone very special to me and him and I can't let this opportunity slip away. … No… not Delia nor my dad. I've already met with Dad and gotten all the details we need. Plus, we haven't run into her yet. I've actually met someone else. But anyways, we're getting off topic. Just tell me where are my chemicals… Please, Edward needs to see my guest and for him to do his job, it's important. Not just for us but for the boy too. … Thank you, love you too. Bye," Henry said then give a kiss sound. He then hanged up the phone and noticed the boy. He face palmed himself. "Ash, what are you doing here? I told you to stay in the dining room. How much did you even hear?" Henry asked, nervous about that.

"Something about the guy being worried about Dad. Uncle, who was that person on the phone and why did you make that weird sound and say you loved them?" Ash asked, very confused. Henry quickly face palmed himself. After a few seconds, he lowered his hand and sighed. "Well, that was my special friend and when you have one, you love them like they're family. That sound was nothing important. As for the chemicals, well, it's for… something I'm doing to help your father. Your father would be mad at me if I didn't have my chemicals with me. Anyway, now that I know where they are, I can get your father. Now go back to the living room and stay there. You're father will be there in a few minutes. I… won't be with you when that happens. I… got work I have to do, and besides, I feel like I would make things awkward." Henry explained. Ash became sad. "Aw, but you're so nice. I would like to see Dad and Uncle together. But if Uncle don't want to, I guess it's okay. Besides I'm finally meeting Dad again!" Ash yelled. Henry chuckled and nodded. Ash soon remembered something. "But before you go, what was best friend calling you about?" Ash asked. Henry loses his smile and looked at the phone. "It's nothing important. He was just wondering if I was at the fun house since he didn't find me in the Pokemon Center." Henry said. Ash smiled and then went back to the living room. He sat on the couch and looked around again. 'This place is boring. There's nothing here.' The boy thought as he started to get bored, 'Why is this the fun house? Nothing feelings fun. Maybe there are secret rooms or, or maybe a room with furniture on the ceiling.' The boy looked at the picture and shivered at it. He shocked his head.

'Maybe I should think about that girl who caused this whole mess. Dad would like to know. Now.. what did she look like again? I think she looked like Aqua, but not nearly as pretty or as old.' Ash thought, then sighed, 'I miss Aqua so much. I wish she didn't have to go on her journey. She was the only one besides Gary that was my friend.' Ash thought. He then shocked his head. 'No, I'll meet some day, right now I got to focus on that girl who tricked me… but did she? Ugh, what am I thinking. Of course she did. She did it to get Edward to take control. I still don't know how she did it, but she's real and she somehow did it. But… who is she and how does she know Edward. Plus why did she say I was her guardian? Ugh, this is so confusing. Maybe thinking about her wasn't my smartest move.' He thought. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. 'I wish I had brought Mom with us. Then she would see Daddy again and convince him to go back home. I… I could never be able to do it. I'm just not smart enough. And Grandpa said I was a disgrace to the Ketchum line for something reason. Probably because I'm dumb, mean, want to hurt people… wait no, I… I don't want to do that. That's what Edward does. It's his fault for being that way and making everyone but a few people not like me,' Ash thought.

Suddenly there was a loud scream. The boy jolted up in confusion. He looked around until another scream was heard. The boy froze as more screams were heard, but they were coming from everywhere. Ash covered his ears but he still heard the yells scream about God, revenge, death, how this world should burn, and other crazy things. Ash breathed heavily as he tried to calm himself. He then heard his own voice screaming over the other voices. "I hate you, Grandpa! I hate school! I hate behaving like a good person when all it does is make people laugh at me! I wish I didn't feel anything! I… I just wish I could just destroy everything!" His own voice yelled. Ash shocked his head. 'NO! I… I can't be thinking like that… It has to be Edward. He's a monster and… and I wished He would disappear! He's the thing that has been ruining my life! I hate him with every fiber of myself! I wish you would just shut up!' Ash thought. Suddenly the screaming stopped. Ash blinked in confusion as he looked around. He lowered his hands and was surprised by the silence. He then sighed in relief. He didn't know what just happened or why but he felt better. He looked at the doors. "But… who was that first scream?" Ash asked and then became worried that it was Henry or even worse, his Dad. However, he had no idea which door to use. Suddenly one of the door knobs shocked. Ash got up and off the couch. Soon the door opened and the area became white. "Daddy?" Ash's voice asked.

…

Suddenly without warning, the monitor turned off and the groups flashlights turned on. "No! Don't leave me like this! I want to see Daddy! I want to know why he's called Edward instead of Henry in this! What's going on!? Who's Xhas? Why is there a painting of Pyramid Head? What's this monster that's going to hurt me!? Answer me!" Ash screamed at the wall. However there was no answer. Ash breathed heavily as his head rushed. Jessie and Misty were equally confused but they knew asking Ash at the moment was unwise. "Twerp, calm down. We're going to get the answers soon. Yelling at nothing will solve nothing." Jessie said, very worried about his mental health. He was cracking hard and if they didn't get answers soon, he could revert to that strange state. Ash growled again as he felt his mind fogging up. His rage was consuming him and he felt so helpless. The boy closed his eyes and held himself. "Ash, let's get… huh?" Misty said before feeling her back pack become heavier. Ash and Jessie turned to her as she lifted her backpack off and began to search it. She froze for a second before pulling out two copies of the papers they had grabbed during their time in the Sanitarium. "Hey, those are those papers we got earlier. But why are there two of them?" Jessie asked. Misty read them and then gasped in shock.

"Ash, the papers… they're completely different. On one set, it has the same writing as we read except the dates are really old and the police report is very different. Meanwhile, the other ones match more with your grandfather being the one who was imprisoned, and the police report is similar to the one we read." Misty said. The two were shock to hear this. "What!?" They both yelled as Ash rushed over to her. He read the articles and saw what she meant. The old articles were exactly the same as the ones they read, except the 'father's' name was there, the dates were very old, and the police report was different. It was the same name they had heard in the Sanitarium. Ash quickly looked at the other set and what Misty said was correct. "But… but how is this possible? We only found one pair at the Sanitarium." Ash questioned, very confused. Jessie had been looking at the papers as well. "Yes, this super weird, but it does explain why we thought your father was in the cell when it was actually your grandfather. I bet Edward's memories of that place were mixed with yours. Plus Pyramid Head has strange powers. It also explains the drawing we found there." She said. Ash and Misty thought about it and it did make sense. Dr. Jekyll was traumatized the same way Ash was, but it was with his father. Ash sighed as he began to calm down.

Misty grumble about how much Pyramid Head was only making things more complicated. The only thing that was cleared up was about what happened in the Sanitarium. Jessie opened the door out. "Let's get out of here and talk about… Luc in the hallway," She said. Misty nodded, put the papers back into her bag, got up, and walked into the hallway. Ash gulped as he got up. He and Jessie left the room and Jessie shut the door. "Alright Ash, you got to explain how that Luc was in your head and out in the world. Also, who are Xhas, Hexxus, and Yagami." Misty question. Ash sighed. He wished his past self _didn't_ have to talk to another part of him, but there was no way he would have known his friends would be here watching his memories. "Okay, I'll talk. You see, the Luc you met is like Edward, but unlike Edward, he is completely made up. He's an old imaginary friend who I lost control of. He does stuff even if I don't like it. His fake body was created by Edward for some unknown reason and once things go back to normal, he'll go back to being in my head. As for Hexxus and Yagami, well I only remembered them being in my head a few years ago and they haven't talked to me or explain where they and Edward come from. Luc just knows they bad people who work with Edward and… I had forgotten that Edward wasn't always a mindless creature that lived in me. At least I understand how those guys could work with him. As for Xhas… well to tell you the truth, I don't remember him at all. I vaguely remember Luc saying that Edward has hurt my body before and was dangerous, but… since I never saw Xhas until now… Edward must've destroyed him. I don't know what Xhas was saying, but it sounded like he knew where those guys came from. I just wished he was still around. Maybe he knew what Pyramid Head is… or maybe not. But.. we would be less confused if he was still around." Ash said.

"But how come those guys aren't working with Pyramid Head or helping Edward after he shifted the town?" Misty asked. Ash looked at the doors and then the holes in the walls. "I don't know, but I got a bad feeling of what's going to happen next." He said. The group nodded. Ash walked up to the next hole and read the words above it. _'Slitheri_ ng _and slipping_ _in_ _the_ _vast emptiness, it uses it's tail to move. The Beast is ready to strike it's prey.'_ Ash pulled out the tablets and saw the ekans one. He froze. He looked at the other door which was a little farther ahead. He gulped and then put the ekans tablet into the slot. The tile glowed then transformed into a door. The Pokemon trainer took a deep breath and entered the area with the girls quickly following behind. This room was surprisingly dark with nothing but a table in the middle of the room for the kids to see. The group's flashlights immediately turned off and the projector turned on.

 **(And that's the end of this chapter. See you in the next one.)**


	27. Chapter 26

ch. 26

 **(Hey everyone. It's Aura and I'm BACK! And I have a new computer so that means I DON'T HAVE TO USE MY PHONE FOR WRITING! YEAH!)**

"Daddy?" The young Ketchum wondered as he looked at the door that had opened. Standing in the doorway was a young man with golden shoulder length hair. He wore the same clothes as Henry but wore glasses that covered his emerald green eyes. He looked a lot like the man in the pocket neckless. The man quickly smiled as he looked at the boy. "Yes, Ash. It's me." The man said as he walked closer to the boy. Ash began to tear up and rushed to his father. They met haft way and the little boy hugged his father. The young soon-to-be trainer looked up from the man's chest and sniffled. "I-It's really you? Y-you're not a fake or anything, r-right?" The boy asked, unsure of whether Xhas was correct. Edward laughed at this notion. "Of course not. What on earth caused you to think I was a fake? Also, what was that screaming about?" Edward asked, worried about the boy. Ash sighed in relief once he heard the news but soon remembered what had caused him to freak out in the first place. "That was me, Daddy. I'm sorry for scaring you, but I heard another scream from somewhere else in the area and it scared me. What…was it?" Ash asked. He still had no idea where the first scream originated from. Edward sighed and looked away. "It was me. I'm…sorry for scaring you, but… I was in a lot of pain for a moment. Don't worry, I'm fine now, but… I really want to tell you the truth since you're so scared of your own Hyde… and … it's going to convince you that Grandpa was right. That we're freaks that need to die… I still remember when Grandpa wasn't such a jerk. He respected me and that I was just following our teachings, but Henry messed things up and… Dad now sees us as inhuman scum…" Edward said as he held Ash, who was very confused. The boy looked the painting. He then smiled and looked at his dad. "Don't worry, you're not like your Hyde. You're good. Mom loves you. I love you and we can stop that monster in you." Ash said. Edward put a hand on his face, and then suddenly he began to laugh, however, it was a deranged laugh.

"D-Dad, what's so funny? Was it something I said?" The boy asked, scared beyond belief. Edward soon stopped and let go of the boy. "Why yes, Ash, you did. I really didn't want it to be like this, but I can't keep you in the dark any longer. If I do, then Henry will keep denying you and we can't go back to being a full family." Edward said. Ash's eyes light up. "Y-you're coming back home! Mom and I won't be alone anymore? But… but aren't you on your Pokémon journey?" Ash asked. Edward sighed. "I am… but… something has happened, so this gives me the perfect option to go back home." Edward said. Ash's smiled became huge as he hugged the man. "I'm so glad! I can't wait! But… What's this truth you were talking about, what about Uncle's friend, and why do the cops not like you?" Ash asked. Edward grumbled when the kid mentioned Henry's friend. Edward kneeled. "Well…. I think it would be best if I show you the fun room and what I do for a living. However, before we go, you must promise to not tell another soul about this and to not get the police involved. If they do, Henry and I will be going to jail and we want a family anymore. Now let's go to the fun room!" Ash's father yelled. Ash lets go and nodded. They turned towards the stairs and then began to climb up. Ash was so excited and yet scared at the same time. On one hand, he was with his father, doing what their family has been doing for a long, long time. But on the other hand, his father was being vague, creepy, and didn't explain why he laughed at his son when he said that his dad's monster was the reason they were apart. 'Ash, are you sure this isn't just your father's Hyde in charge? It would explain things.' Luc asked the boy. Ash put up a brave face. 'No, this is just Dad, I… I can feel it. Besides, wouldn't he be referring to himself as dad's Hyde name. I don't get why Dad is acting like a Hyde, but this is Dad.' Ash told the men in his head. Luc sighed as they reached the top of the stairs, which lead to a hallway with the end of the area having a door with a strange marking etched into the wooden door. As the two males got closer to the door, there was an odd smell that was unsettling. The young boy became nervous as he began to question what his father even did. But before he could ask, they had reached the door. His father pulled out a key and opened the door.

They quietly entered the room and after a few steps, the boy quickly noticed something before freezing in horror. The area was small, had fine lighting, and had things no child should ever see in them. There was a large table in the middle of the room with a smaller wheeled table cart just to the left of it. The larger table was a man gagged up and strapped to the table which was already covered in old blood, meanwhile, the smaller one had many sharp and dangerous looking knives on it. The boy shifted his eyes away from the horrible scene to the rest of the room and saw metal lockers, fans that tried to get rid of the smell, and an iron chair with many spikes on the seat, leg support, the back, and the arm rest. There were metal restraints on both the chair and the table. Ash felt himself wanting to gag as his mind buzzed in confusion and fear. He looked at his father whose eyes looked soulless. The man shut the door behind him and locked it. The boy stepped back, unsure of everything. "Dad, w-what IS this… place? Why is it here and…w-why did you call it the fun room? W-who's that man on the table?" The boy asked, hoping this was just a joke. Edward smirked before he walked up to the smaller table and picked up one of the knives. "Ash, why do you hate this? Why do you hate your Hyde?" His father asked. Ash turned to his father and blinked, then thought of it. "Because Hyde is a mean guy who hurts people. And this place is gross, it has pointy things that look like they hurt, and there's blood. Plus, that man looks really scared. But Dad, you didn't answer my questions." Ash replied, still frightened by the room and noticing that the gagged man was wide awake and muffling in fear. Edward laughed at the boy's answer. "But isn't Pokémon battles hurting the Pokémon and yet you love them," Edward said. The boy was confused as to why his dad would imply being a bully and Pokémon battles were the same thing then shocked his head and took a stand. "Well… yeah, I love them, but that's different. Pokémon wants to do it to get stronger, it's fun, and there's no blood involved. But Dad, why are you dodging my questions?" Ash asked, still very confused. He wanted a straight answer from him. Edward looked away.

"Because I'm terrified of your response to knowing what I am. I thought showing you this would allow you and your Hyde to understand each other. You're practically the same as him based off how you are now, and yet… you're not embracing your darkest feelings like he is. And it frustrates me because you're afraid of yourself and others like you. *Sigh* But I can't do that any longer. Ash… the reason I do not have my own Hyde is…" Edward said, then turned to the boy with a wicked look in his eyes and a monstrous smile. "I AM a Hyde. In fact, my name is Edward Antony Hyde, and my other self is none other than Henry Ketchum, your 'Uncle'. But since your Hyde is also called Edward, you can call me Eddy." Ash fell onto his butt as the news echoed in his ears. The boy couldn't believe what the man said nor the fact that he claimed that the boy was the same as his Edward Hyde. "Y-you're a…a monster and…and Uncle also my dad? But… but why did he lie about him being my Uncle? Why are you saying you're my dad?" Ash asked as questions buzzed in his head at this revolution. Eddy put the knife back on the table and walked up to the boy. The gagged man quieted down and was confused by all of this. "Because it was me who gave life to you. While Henry and I do have the same body, you obviously inherited more of my traits instead of Henry's. Just like how our family was created by the original Edward Hyde. You only have Henry's last name because it is a tradition for the Ketchum side to be the one who is married." Eddy said. The boy shocked. "But, but why did you lie? Why did you leave? Why… do you hurt people in this place and why is it here? I thought this was Henry's friend's house. Why does he have a place like this?" Ash asked, still very confused about everything. Edward looked at the room. "Well, I guess I should explain the fun house first so you won't keep asking about it. You see, Henry's 'friend' is the son of the mayor and one of the many perks of that position is this house. It's specifically a torcher house with many of the rooms having different and unique things you can use to kill someone or break their wills. This is my favorite. Just the simple cutting deep into your prey is just delightful and the chair of spikes is a nice touch. But don't worry Ash, I'm not like Grandpa. I am not going to kill you. I love you too much to do something like that. And I can't wait to see how you are going to be like when you kill someone for the first time." Eddy said, excited.

Ash shivered seeing his 'father' like this. The boy was still recovering from what the man had told him and seeing this made the boy unsure of himself. This was the man he had been waiting for and he was a nut just like the crazy people in the Sanitarium. The man noticed the boy's shaking and saw every emotion the boy was dealing with. "Ash, I know this is hard to swallow, but if you're ever going to be happy and have me live with you and Delia again, you must accept me, your own Hyde, and our job… Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I haven't even explained what our family even does. You're probably thinking that all I do is kill people like the poor smock over on the table because I am like those guys in the Sanitarium. Well, you are correct that I am like those people, that's not all why we do this. After all, the Ketchum side won't be like Grandpa and just let us do kill any guy or girl. You see, our family is a group of murderers who hunt down criminals, corrupt leaders, and punish them under God's grace. God is the only one to really accept us, so we do what she wants us to do, and that is hurt people who deserve it. Sure, we won't be going to paradise because of our crimes, but we accept this sacrifice so more people will be happy." Eddy said with a smile. Ash immediately thought back to the play he had watched with his mom as a small thought bubble showed a small image of the play he had watched earlier. "So, you're like Xuchilbara and Losel Vith and super heroes? But I thought they weren't supposed to kill people, just lock them away," Ash asked, unsure if Dad was cool or horrible. Eddy chuckled as he rubbed his head. "I guess you can say that. Although I don't know why you lumped Losel Vith with the others, whatever. As for the killing thing, it's because some people can't just be captured. Sometimes they need to die for balance to strike. Say, for example, there's an evil business man capturing them by injuring them with nets and traps. And then they are stuffed into tight, cold cages and then sold to an evil group of people who've I hated since I met your mom. If this man were to simply get captured, he could break out or pay his way out, and justice would never fully be applied to him. Don't you think that's awful?" Edward said with a warm goofy smile that contrasted from the room and the look the man had on earlier.

"O-okay. But why did you leave and then lied to me? And why did Grandpa hate me and you if we're just doing God's work?" Ash asked as he remembered that part. Edward froze and then sat next to the boy. "Oh... that. I'm sorry about lying to you, but you would have done the same. You would do anything to make me see you as normal… but… you and I can never be normal. We're… just freaks. And because of Henry's messing with science, my dad hates us for making our condition worse. If Henry hadn't done that, Dad would have loved you like a normal dad. We were just trying to talk to you without telling you the truth since… you were afraid of yourself, why would you want to be with a man who is the same as your evil side?" Eddy asked. Ash looked at the man in confusion. He thought back to what Luc and Xhas had told him earlier. 'Y-you're, you're not really trusting this man? He lied to us, he is the same as Edward, and he could kill you. You need to get out of here.' Luc and Xhas said to the boy. Ash held himself. 'But… what if you're wrong about Edward? What if I give them a chance? I… I can finally be with Daddy, I won't be hating myself, and Edward could be nicer. Besides, we'll be getting rid of the bad people, so what's wrong with that?' Ash asked himself. Ash suddenly felt a ton of weight on his shoulders. 'Then what's going to separate you from the bad people you kill? What separates a good person from a monster if it isn't the willingness to kill or hurt someone?' Luc asked. Ash began to tear up and hugged his father. "I don't know what to do. I want you to be with me, but… but the people in my head say you're just as bad as the bad guys… and… and I don't know what to think," Ash cried. Edward hugged the boy back as he smiled. "You know, that's the same thing I was going through when I left you behind," Edward said. Ash sniffled and looked up. "R-really?" Ash asked. Eddy nodded.

"Yep. Back when you were young, I was still unsure of self. Dad hated that I…Henry had recreated the formula that caused all of this and was living with a woman who had different beliefs than me. He was also insulted that I was wanting to continue the Ketchum job despite being more… 'wicked' as he said. But I tried to ignore him since I was so excited teaching you about God and the Valtiel section of the Order… but Delia didn't like what I was doing that and… neither did Henry. He wanted to forget about God and the Order because he wanted to forget what he had done. But, that wasn't the worst of it. Henry wasn't in love with your mom, so it was hard living with her while as Henry. He loved you but he knew you would never belong to him. To him, he was living a lie and mocked me with how much you look like him. I didn't know what to do, and I was scared that everything was my fault. Then you started showing signs that you had your own Hyde, and I grew jealous of you. I… I was wishing I was a real boy like you. You were born into that body, but I and your Hyde were not. We're freaks, and… I am ashamed of myself for leaving you. Now you think your Hyde is a monster that is no way related to you other than it is in your body. But it's not. We Hydes are always a piece of our hosts. I am as much of Henry as he is of me. We are not some creature born from nothing, we're just different sides of the same coin. We have different thoughts, attitudes, and opinions, but we are still the same person… and it took me a long time to realize this, and even then, Henry still denies you are his son. I… I don't want you to be like us. Please, just let me in and everything will be okay. We'll be a family." Eddy said with a smile. Ash sniffled as he was moved by what his father said.

Ash then hugged the man as hard as he could. "Yes, Dad! Come back to us! I… I don't care about anything anymore! I just want you back!" Ash cried out. Eddy smiled, however, it was another monstrous one. "I will Ash, I promise. I just have one more job to do and then we can be a happy family. You stay here and I'll kill this man on the table. He's the exact same kind of guy who I was referencing earlier and he needs to pay for his crimes." Eddy said and as he got up and walked over to the table. Ash smiled and was a bit excited to see what his dad was going to do. However, he soon felt a hand on his shoulder. "I am very disappointed in you, Ash," Luc's voice said although the two men did not hear this as Eddy picked up a knife that looked like a smaller version of Pyramid Head's. Ash turned around and saw his guardian, who looked ashamed and angry. "What did I do wrong this time? Daddy's going to stop a bad guy. He loves me. I… I don't know what's your problem?" Ash asked. Eddy stopped and turned around in confusion. Luc looked at the boy coldly before looking at the cart. "Punishing criminals? You honestly believe that monster? He just admits that this is a torture chamber. He admitted that he's like Edward! You're trusting that man who abandoned you? The man who allowed Edward to enter your body and caused Grandfather to go insane and almost kill us? This man is willing to kill for fun and 'tradition'. You're just going to let him betray all of what your mother and Xhas told us because he's Daddy?!" Luc yelled; he was furious. Tears began to form in the boy's eyes as he didn't know what to do. Eddy became worried and walked up to the boy. "B-but maybe we were wrong about Edward and killing. M-maybe…" Ash began to say, but suddenly he was slapped by himself on the cheek. Ash blinked as held his cheek. Eddy was shocked to see this. "Ash, snap out of it. Your father is a liar and a beast. He was created by Henry's selfish desires. He doesn't care about you or your feelings. He's just trying to escape from his own crimes. He'll leave us once the police have gotten off his trail. Let's go down stairs and call the police. Then things will go back to somewhat normality," Luc said as he grabbed the boy's hand, however, Ash felt his mouth move as Luc said that. Suddenly Xhas appeared in front of the boy and grabbed his other hand. "Luc's right. We need to get out fast. I don't want to be here any longer. I… I'm sorry our time with Dad turned out to be so… bad, but we had no idea this would happen." Xhas said. Ash breathed heavily as his mind began to fog up. _'They're just trying to take control of you. They don't care about Daddy or what's he's really like. They are just lying to you so they can escape. They just want you to go away.'_ A vicious voice said to only Ash as Luc and the others didn't hear this.

"B-but… he's Daddy. We love him. A-and he loves me for me. He's… he's much better than you and stupid Henry! Henry only cares about getting as far away from me as possible to be with his friend! Daddy actually wants me! BUT YOU GUYS DON'T WANT ME TO BE HAPPY! YOU WANT HIM TO BE TAKEN AWAY TO WHERE GRANDPA IS! YOU…YOU WANT HIM TO BE IN THAT HORRIBLE PLACE!" Ash yelled. Eddy smiled at Ash's words. Suddenly everyone could hear war drums and the area shocked. "Ash, that's not what we want to do. Please calm down so you can to listen to us." Xhas said, however, he was quickly by Ash letting out a monstrous roar. Suddenly a loud siren rang as the area stopped shaking. Suddenly the wood on the walls, floor, and the door began to float up into the air and disintegrate revealing a grimy grated floor with nothing but darkness underneath, grated walls with more fans, and the door being replaced by a large metal double door with two stick executioners with Pyramids on their heads holding spears. The group of males stopped in confusion and fear. The young boy's body became bigger, more muscular, and wings formed from his back. His form twisted and grew until it was larger than the men in front of him, ripping apart his clothes until they fell off as pieces of cloth. The boy was now unrecognized except for the spiky Raven hair he still had. The creature had a round dragon head that was similar looking to a Salamence's head but with hair on the top, pitch black, soulless eyes with only white dots as pupils; z marks under the eyes, pale skin for the top of the body, a long, thick neck; large pink arms that had spikes at the end and acted as armor for his for arms, large ape like hands that were acting as crutches for the creature, large hairy legs with goat feet, a pale to red torso with thick abs, large Charizard wings, a long spiky tail, and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. On its arms were strange looking circular symbols that oddly look like the ones Ash currently has on his arms.

The creature soon roared as it slammed its fists towards Xhas and Luc, but they dodged out of the way. "Ash, w-what's this? How is this happening? You need to calm down so we can understand this." Xhas said, sounding surprised by this event. Luc and Eddy also were deeply surprised by this turn of events while the captured man on the table was panicking like mad at the horror he was seeing. The creature, however, growled at them and lunged at Xhas. The Guardian jumped back and hit the large metal doors. The monster grunted as it hits the grated ground. It slowly got up, giving Luc the chance to run up to the Beast and grabbed one of its arms. The thing turned to the other man in annoyance. "Ash, please, listen to your conscience. You know this is wrong. Just because your Hyde and your dad want to be horrible doesn't mean you must as well. So, what if he's our father and says you're like Edward Hyde. He's a horrible, little man who's only pretending to love you!" Luc yelled, but that only made the creature angrier. The creature flung the man away onto the grated floor and turned towards him in anger, unintendedly showing the strange mark to his dad. His dad gasped in shock as he recognized the symbol. The creature blinked by the sudden sound and turned towards his father. Luc and Xhas grunted as they got up and noticed the creature was staring at the man in confusion. "Ash… I…I don't know how this is possible but… you're marked with the seal of Metatron and this giant…creature. There's only one explanation for this, the gods have blessed you with their powers. You are just like Alessa, gifted with greatness, but given a different role than her. But why were you blessed in the first place when you haven't been a part of the Order for so long? Were the gods so sorry for your predicament that they gave you your powers? Or maybe it had to do with your encounter with Alessa and it somehow unleashed your powers. Anyway, Ash, this is amazing, you could do so much now and punish people in so many ways that aren't normally freezable," Eddy said, excited by the boy's new form. The creature blinked in confusion as it looked at its body. 'H-he's right. I'm bigger, stronger, and… and I feel like I can do anything. This place is scary, but I feel like I can make anything now. I…I don't care how this happened, but it's great.' Ash thought as a smile formed on the creature. However, Luc and Xhas weren't happy about this. "Ash, I think you should be the one to gut this man on the table now that you're in this new form. Here. Ash use this knife," Eddy said as lifted the hand with the knife and presented it to the big creature. It gulped in fear as he felt a weight of responsibility.

"Ash, don't do this. If you do, you're going prove Grandpa and the bullies right." Luc said, however, he was interrupted by Xhas's hand. "Luc, it's too late. That's not Ash anymore, that's Edward Hyde. Only a deranged, monstrous creature like him would attack us and side with a monster. Trying to convince him now is impossible. We can only try and find where the creature took Ash," Xhas said. His words piercing the creature's heart like a knife. 'N-not Ash anymore?' The creature thought as it's inner voice sounded like a mix of Ash and Edward Hyde. It soon noticed it's inner voice had changed so drastically. 'A-are they right? Am I not Ash anymore? N-NO! That can't be true! These feelings I feel are real and… and I love daddy! They're just saying that because they don't want to see this as me! But…then why is my voice so weird now?' The creature thought, before shaking its head and grabbing the knife. 'Don't think about it. I... I must make Daddy proud. I…I got to do this to make him finally live with me. He loves me. He's the only one besides Mom and Aqua who does.' The creature soon 'walked' over to the table and growled at the man who was still panicking. The creature lifted the knife up and began to slash at the man's chest, blood splattering on its claws and face. Each cut digging deeper and deeper into the body as the creature put all its rage into the cuts. The creature soon roared and then stabbed the knife deep into what's left of the man's chest. The creature panted as it lets go of the knife and stared at the corpse it created. The rib cage was broken and the man's organs were ripped to shreds. A horrified agonized look was on the man's face that would never change. The creature froze and began to shake in fear.

' **You did this. You could've stopped this… You didn't have to do this. You didn't need to show this side to him. If you had just behaved, then you wouldn't be a murderer. What did you know about this man to warrant this kill? You don't know him. You didn't even get to know if he warranted this execution or if he could still change. You could have saved him instead of letting this happen. You just blindly did what Dad said without even second guessing him or yourself. You only lashed out like a monster. That's all you seem to do. Destroy, kill, and mutilate things. Aqua should have destroyed you. Grandpa should have finished what he started.'** Another voice said to the monster, this time sounding like the announcer on the radio and the phone. The creature held its head as self-hatred began to form in its heart. The creature breathed heavily as the war drums died down and another siren could be heard. The creature grunted in pain as its body shifted again along with the world. The area fazed back into looking like it did before and the creature's body transformed back into the young Ash Ketchum, however, he was naked. The boy shocked his head as the war drums and siren stopped playing. The boy lets go of his head and looked at the table again, hoping by some miracle that he didn't kill a man, however, his fears became real as he saw the corpse. He looked at his hands and they were covered in blood. The boy's whole body shocked from not only pain from the transformation, but also horror at what he had done. However, before it lasted too long, Eddy happily walked over to the boy, kneeled and hugged the boy. "Ash, you did an excellent job with that man. Now we'll be one big happy family. I'm so proud of you," Eddy said. Ash turned towards his father in shock. Those words sank deep into the boy's chest, filling up the words the deep voice and his guardians had told him. 'Y-yeah. I…I did right. He loves me and I stopped a bad guy. I…I didn't do anything wrong. I…I'm not a mistake.' Ash thought then smiled and nodded despite still shaking. "I…I love… I love you too Daddy." Ash said, having trouble speaking then hugged the man. Edward smiled and hugged him back. However, the boy could feel the cold grip of guilt on his heart despite the hug. The boy closed his eyes. 'Just ignore it and enjoy the moment. I did the right thing, no matter what Luc and Xhas say. I'm…I'm not something to be destroyed or locked away. I…I am Ash and I'm not going to let them say I'm not just because I did this.' The boy soon relaxed a bit as he just enjoyed the hug.

Suddenly there was a loud pounding at the door. Ash opened his eyes in shock and confusion as his father let go of him and got up. "What the? Who's pounding at the door? We should be alone." Edward said as he turned towards the door. Suddenly the door busted open and five officers entered the room with their Herdiers in front of them. "Put your hands into the air. This is the police, and you're under arrest for kidnapping and…" One of the officers yelled before they noticed the screen. Ash gets up and hides behind his father in fear. The boy noticed that his father was afraid of the police officers. The officers soon stopped and looked at the boy. "You, young boy, step away from the dangerous man. We're here to help you. Your mother is waiting for you down stairs. She's worried sick about you." One of the officers said. Ash blinked. "Momma's here?" Ash asked. The two officers nodded. "Please step away from the bad man. He's a killer and he…tore up your clothes? I didn't think he was a sex offender as well but that's another charge to send him to prison," One of the other officers said. The boy froze at the mention of prison and growled. "You're wrong about Daddy! Daddy didn't do anything wrong! I-I didn't do anything wrong! This…THIS MAN DESERVED IT!" Ash yelled as his fears began to pilot him again. The officers were shocked to hear what the boy said then looked at Eddy. "There's no way this man your father. He looks nothing like what your mother describes." The chief officer said, shocking Eddy and Ash.

"What do you mean I look nothing like she described? What did she describe?" Eddy yelled in anger. The boy didn't like what the men were going to say. "Well, she said he had long deep brown hair, auburn eyes, and he didn't wear glasses." An officer said. Eddy and Ash felt a sting in their hearts. 'Momma…she…she still thinks Henry is my dad. She…she didn't like Edward, she liked Henry instead despite him not loving her.' Ash thought then looked at the corpse. He soon saw Luc and Xhas staring at him in anger. 'Yes, which means you did this horrible thing for a man your mother hated. A man she didn't want back and wanted his alternate personality instead. If you had realized how cruel and how different this man was from what your mother told you, then you would realize that she could never love this thing if he came back.' Xhas said, his words stinging harder than the police officer's. Eddy growled. "How could she ever prefer that stupid guy over me? Ugh… No matter. Ash go kill them like how you killed this man," Eddy commanded, causing the officers to gasp in shock. Ash turned towards his father and the officers, blinking in confusion. "But Dad, they're not bad guys like this man. They're just doing their job. They…they just don't understand us, th-that's all." Ash said as he tried to put on a smile, however, the guilt in his heart was growing. However, that only made Eddy angrier as he glared at the boy. "They're not going to listen. They're never going to listen. Now kill them before more arrive and surround the house," Eddy commanded, sounding harsher. Ash looked at the officers who were horrified by the boy and man. "That boy killed Thomas Wyman? But, how? Those marks look like they were made by a wild beast. No way a small child could ever make them." The chief said. Ash held his head. 'What should I do? What should I do? If I follow Dad, then Mom will hate me and…and I'll be no better than the bad guys. But if I do nothing, they're going to take Dad away. They...they might take me away to that horrible place.' Ash thought as he began to shiver and breathe heavily. "I don't know what to do anymore!? I… I just WANT TO BE HAPPY WITH MOM AND DAD!" Ash screamed. Edward froze as his face softened. Edward suddenly hugged the boy, surprising both the boy and the cops. "Ash, I'm…I'm s-sorry for all of this. I… I know we hurt people, but killing innocent people isn't a good thing no matter the reason and I shouldn't force you to do it. You are the most beautiful, wonderful thing I love. You have so much potential and power that you can use to do so many good things. So you should do whatever makes you happy. Just don't listen to police about that man you killed. He truly was a bad man and it was right for you to kill him… But what I tried to make you do…it's too far even for us Hydes. I'm sorry for trying to make you do it so… let me be captured." Edward whispered into the kid's ear.

Ash sniffled and then looked at his dad who had a sad smile on. Ash froze. "What? I… I can't lose you, Daddy. I just got you back," Ash said softly as tears formed in his eyes again. Edward chuckled and then rubbed the boy's head. "And that's why I must do it. Eventually I will be a better executioner and hopefully, we will meet again. But right now, your mom's a greater teacher than I could ever be. Just remember we can't control what we are, how we act, or how to not hurt others. We are monsters, and that's fine. But… you're not ready for my world nor am I ready to teach you. If I had stayed around, maybe things could have been different and you could control your powers better. And maybe I wouldn't have stooped so low to try and make you kill these innocent people. Who knows. Besides, this isn't the first time I've been to jail. I hope to see you one day. I love you and Goodbye," Eddy said, suddenly he kissed Ash right on the lips. Ash froze for a second before sniffled. After a few seconds, the man lets go of the boy. "Goodbye Daddy," Ash said as his father got up. He soon turned around to the cops and the two noticed the Herdiers had surrounded them. Edward raised his hands as a sign of surrender. "Alright, alright, you got me. I was lying about being the boy's father so he would do what I say and it worked. But now the jig is up and you caught me. Just be gentle on the boy, he never meant to kill the guy," Eddy said, but it was hard to tell if he was lying or not. Ash, however, knew in his heart that this was just a lie. The Herdiers growled at the man.

One of the officers came up to the group and grabbed Eddy's hands. "You truly are a sick freak for tricking a boy like that. We have a lot of questions to ask you at the police station. But…we won't tell anyone about you using this boy to kill this man. It's not the boy's fault you're a degenerate." The officer said as he handcuffed the man. Eddy smirked at this. "I bet you do," Eddy said, a bit miffed by all of this. Suddenly they heard stomping feet as something was running down the hall. The officers turned around as a young woman entered the room. It was Ash's mom and she didn't look a bit different from her present self. She screamed in horror at the sight of the body and the blood. The officers, Eddy, and Ash flinched before she quieted down. Suddenly another officer ran into the room, but he was out of breath. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't keep Mrs. Ketchum in the living room, she was too worried about her son and…oh my god, what is this place?" The officer asked as he noticed the room and the body. The officers and the Herdiers glared at the man. "This is our kidnapper's place and turns out he's the Infamous Mr. Hyde. He killed Mr. Wyman and ripped the boy's clothes off." One of the officers told the new guy. Eddy growled. "Just so you know I did not rape the boy nor did I do anything to him. I only kissed him once and it was a goodbye kiss. I'm not that low." Eddy said, however, the police weren't convinced. Delia looked away. Eddy looked at Delia and then the cops. "Could Delia, Ash, and I speak alone though? I…want to know her true feelings about me and…the boy's real father." Eddy asked the cops. Ash grunted as his father must pretend that Henry and he aren't the same guys. "I'm sorry, but no. You'll just find some way to manipulate that boy again." The chief said. The others agreed. Eddy grumbled as the cops looked at Delia. "We're so sorry your son had to be apart in this. If we had only found his hideout sooner, this would have never happened. We should take you, your son, and this criminal back to the police station for questioning and… to try and help your son." The chief said as he grabbed the chain of the handcuffs. Ash held himself as he began to shiver. Delia walked up to the boy. "It's okay. We already know that. I…I had wished this was the last time we had to go through this," Delia said as she referenced what Ash's Grandfather did. Ash nodded, but all he could feel was shame. The officers nodded as the air of awkwardness filled the air. The chief and three of his men whistled to their Pokémon and the creatures moved out of the way. Then the five officers soon then took Eddy out of the room, leaving Ash and his mother behind with only the officer that had come in with Ash's mom remaining. Ash quickly rushed up to his mother and hugged her. "Ash, don't worry, you won't see that bad man anymore. I promise," She said as she hugged back, however, that didn't make the little boy feel better.

' **She's never going to accept the real you or accept that you killed someone. Nobody could forgive such a monstrous crime, no matter what you excuse. That's why you can't tell her the truth. Besides, you're not her boy. You could never be her joy. A hideous creature could ever make someone happy.'** The deep voice said, causing the boy to shiver. The boy closed his eyes as everything began to blur around him. 'Shut up! I…I am Ash! You know nothing about mom! I…I will be loved! I will make people happy! I…I am…I am…' Ash thought, however, his head was starting to hurt. He began to breathe heavily as thoughts were slowing down. "Ash! Ash, are you alright!?" Delia's voice rang in fear. The boy opened his eyes and saw his mother's worried face. He noticed she was now kneeling and they weren't hugging anymore. Ash held his head as the blurring disappeared and his thoughts were returning to normal. "Y-yeah, my…my head hurts…I'm so hungry. I didn't get any lunch," Ash said as he tried to excuse the strange feeling. However, his mother wasn't convinced. She sighed. "It's going to be alright. We're going to get out of here and you can have a nice sandwich. I… I hope he didn't hurt you too much. I'm sorry for letting this happened. If I had just watched you more or… or if I hadn't slipped on where your father was, then that…man wouldn't had captured you," She said, feeling guilt. Ash felt his own guilt over this. 'If I had just gotten Dad to talk to her before we went here, then…then this wouldn't have ended so badly.' He thought, then hugged her tightly. "Momma, it's okay. It's…it's my fault. I let that man take me here and…and…I…I didn't think of you. I…I love you mom," Ash said. Delia blinked for a moment before hugging her son. "I love you too, Ash. And I promise to never return to this town once we leave," She said with a smile as she picked him up. He smiled. "Y-yeah. I…I want to forget this place," Ash said. Suddenly the screen faded to white.

…

The gang simply stood there, a grasped by what they had just seen as their flashlights turned back on. They couldn't believe someone could be so heartless, so cruel, and love being that way. Ash was the most shaken up by this as he was literally shaking in anger, confusion, fear, self-loathing, and betrayal. His father made him do such a horrible thing and… and the boy simply did it like a wild animal. No wonder he forgotten about this. No child should be forced to kill someone. Misty and Jessie looked at their friend. They felt awful for the boy. "Twerp…you didn't mean it. Your father… no Edward Hyde forced you to do it. But...there's something I don't get. After all you and Eddy went through, why didn't Henry apologize for all these horrible things Eddy did? Once he knew you didn't remember him, it was his responsibility to inform us and apologize to you for his other self. Maybe…the Henry we met isn't your father. It…would explain something James, Meowth, and I saw," Jessie said, trying to calm the boy. The boy shivered at that notion. He looked at his hands and saw old blood on them. He then shocked his head. "Or maybe he was just too ashamed to confess and when he saw Ash didn't recognize him, he used this chance to try and make things right. And what's this thing you saw and why didn't you mention it earlier?" Misty asked, angry that Jessie was still hiding things from them. However, Jessie looked away. "I…promised the boy's father to not tell you. I'm sorry," She said, but that only made Misty angrier. Ash closed his eyes and tried to think about all of this. On the one hand, Misty could be right. It would fit with his character. But on the other, Jessie could be right as well. His father should had done that especially when he realized his son didn't remember what he had done. Not to mention, he was acting like when the group met him, it was their first meeting. A part of himself was telling him that this memory was true, but another part of himself told him that the memories was false and were just made up by Edward to fool him into believing his father was a monster. "I-I don't know what to think anymore!" Ash yelled, scared and confused. The trainer then let out an angry roar as he slammed his fists into the floor. Misty and Jessie stepped back in fear as the boy breathed heavily. He held his head again as his heart raced and his body shocked some more. "Make it stop. Make it stop! I just want to be me! I want to forget all these horrible memories! I…I want my Daddy!" Ash cried out in fear. The boy breathed heavily as he didn't know what to do. He suddenly saw the large six-armed monster twitching in agony, ready to attack another person. The trainer closed his eyes and fell to his knees.

"Twerp, just take slow breathes. We're going to figure this all out. This isn't the last door remember. Surely the last vision is going to clear some things up. And if it doesn't, then we're going to find Xuchilbara or Pyramid Head or whatever his true name is and get some answers on your father and these visions. Then things should go back to normal and we can get out of this messed up town," Jessie said with confidence. The boy breathed slowly as he thought about it. He soon remembered there was still one last door. One last chance things could be cleared up and he learned why his father is now acting this way. He didn't know what answer his memories could bring up to clear up their confusion, but there was still more to learn. After a few minutes, he sighed and got up. "Y-yeah. There's that last door and Pyramid Head. We're…we're going to defeat him and return everything to better," Ash said as his head began to clear up. Misty and Jessie soon saw a smile returning to the boy's face as he turned to them. The two girls smiled back, glad to see their friend back to normal. However, before they could leave, Misty and Jessie noticed something on the table. They had been so entranced by their own thoughts and what happened in the past to realize that there was a letter on the table. "Ash, there's a letter on the table. Maybe it has the answers we're looking for." Misty said as she pointed to the letter. The boy turned around and noticed it. He agreed and walked up to the table. He quickly picked up the envelope and examined it. It was a pure white envelope with nothing on it but a stamp of a black heart with a red barbed x in the middle. The boy was confused by this and then removed the seal and opened the envelope. He soon found a letter and opened it, showing it was sloppily written. The boy then began to read it out loud.

"Dear Light Yagami and Hexxus, I know writing to you is not normally something I do, but… I need to get this off my chest and I can't talk to you guys without… freaking out. I… I hope you're not mad. A-anyway, you're probably wondering why I have been acting strangely ever since we met the Alessa. Well, at first, I thought it was just a power that was awakened by that Alessa girl… and that is true, but it spiraled into something much worse. We should have done something about it instead of hiding from Chase and Luc, especially since they will find our special space in my… Ash's mind if my condition worsens… However, I don't know what we could have fixed this before it got this bad. We've never dealt with me cracking like this before and I… I'm so scared. I… I can barely think probably, I can barely write this letter, and… I want to destroy this letter with all my heart and soul. It's taking all my strength to keep my head straight and to write this letter. Anyway, Alessa reawakened something we've been holding back… it's the same thing that slipped through and infected this world. And now it's active again and… infected me as well. But instead of just giving me the same powers as Alessa, it twisted my already messed up mind, and… it twisted the boy's mind as well. And… then Grandpa hurt me and made me unsure of what's good and what's bad anymore… and then Daddy… I… I want Daddy to be back… I want him back so badly… I want to hurt that boy for allowing those men to take him away! I SHOULD Have KILLED THEM! I SHOULD Have FORCED MOM TO ACCEPT US! BUT…BUT I WAS A COWARD AND….and… Anyway, you know what Daddy did to us… and I can't think straight anymore. Ash's mind is inside of me, but I am the one who is losing control. I think the boy is me and… I hate him. I am no longer just annoyed by him for messing with our plans to make him another piece of Dark. I am obsessed and angry at that… monster! I hate everything about him! I JUST WISHED HE WAS GONE AND… and I see him as a threat despite the fact he can never destroy us. I don't even see him as Ash anymore, I… I see myself instead. I see me… as Ash. I know there had times where I acted like another person, but… this is different. This one knows me, knows what a monster I am, and can take control over me whenever I let my guard down. The others are stuck as personalities I sometimes use to spice up my life. This…this is just painful. I just… I just wanted Daddy to love me but that STUPID Edward got in the way! If he wasn't there!

"Sorry about that, Ash's mind took over for a moment again. But just so you know, this Ash isn't exactly like the boy. My influence has made this one is truly a monster like me. If this Ash isn't treated well, I don't know what will happen… nor do I know what will happen to the personality of Edward Hyde. Will Ash become my main mind? What will happen when I finally met Jekyll again? Will he be trapped as Henry or that monster I last saw him as? What will Luc do to this Ash if my mind fully transformed into Ash? What would happen if I tried to destroy the other me? What will happen to the thing we hid away? Will it take over Ash's mind to stay in control or try to kill him? Ugh. My head hurts. The only thing I do know is that it is too late to save Edward Hyde. Even if I come back, I'll just be the twisted form of Ash, just with my old memories back. I can never truly be Edward Hyde again…" The letter said before stopping. Ash yelling his lungs out when the letter became very angry, the words stinking home to him as he felt a strange connection to the letter. The young trainer soon took his breath as he finished reading as Jessie and Misty stared at the boy in shock. "Ash, are…are you sure that's what the letter says?" Misty asking. The boy looked at her and sadly nodded. "Y-yeah. I read it line by line. I…don't know how old this letter is or why it's here, but…I'm scared. This is Edward's thoughts and… somehow Pyramid Head and I were making him crazier. He…he thought he was me. That's probably why he said he was my shadow when we first met him again after the town was transferred into this other world. I…I feel so bad for him." Ash said as he looked at the letter. The two girls nodded, however, they felt there was something more to Edward's behavior than just this.

"Anyway, you should give me the letter Ash…just in case we should fight again," Misty said as she reached out her hand. The boy looked at the letter and sighed. He soon gave his friend the letter and she put it in her bag with all the other documents. The group soon exited the room and entered the hallway again. Ash looked at the final hole, however, his mind was still confused by the letter and the memory. What did it all mean? _'There's still time to go get Daddy and pretend these memories never happened. The truth is scary, you don't have to watch this… All it's going to do is harm you even more._ But… what could be worse than what I and Dad did? What's worse than making Edward temporary think he was me? _Hehehe. You still think there's a difference between you and your shadow._ Would you stop saying that? Why do you keep saying that? While Dad and Henry were the same, it's not the same for me and Edward Hyde. I… I just made him think that way. And for a long time, so did I. But… we can't be the same. I am not like him at all. I only was thinking that way because… because I didn't know what to do when with Daddy… _Hehehe. You are so naïve. But if you're so intent on learning the truth, go ahead. We warned you._ Alright… but who are you and how do you know so much? You don't sound like Xuchilbara, you're not me since you know so much, and you're so confused on how you treat me. One moment you're giving me tips, the other you're scolding me. _Oh, you'll learn_ _but just so you know,_ **I have multiple voices. I am what you need me to be. Even if it hurts you.'** The voice said before becoming gruff like the announcer. Ash gulped. Maybe this was Xuchilbara as the god or whatever was just messing with him for sounding different. Ash rubbed his head as he calmed down. He looked ahead to the hole. The trainer knew immediately that he had to place the Pidgey tile in the hole, but when he noticed a large amount of words, he had to read it to see if there was a clue or something. 'It keeps its prey in sight. It can see things others cannot. It is strong in battle. It is a creature caged by himself and courses it's feathers.' The poem said, however, it just made the boy more confused. He sighed and decided the riddle wasn't important as he put the last plate into the hole. It seamlessly clicked in and glowed. Ash carefully wiped away a few tears forming in his eyes as the door appeared. The group soon opened the door and entered, ready to see what the last of his hidden memories had to offer.


	28. Chapter 27

Ch. 27

 **(Hey everyone! Not that long since the last episode, well, I've been working on the other chapters since the end is near, but just so you know, this chapter took quiet of bit of work to do. I hope you like it.)**

It didn't take that many steps before Ash, Misty, and Jessie noticed that they had entered a long hallway with a red painted door at the very end. It was like the tunnel from the antique shop with reddened metal grating on the floor. The walls were a dark red, not that one could tell what color they had been with the blood spattered over them. Arcane symbols seemed to be scrawled in a few places, the most prominent being a large circle holding three other circles inside. It kind of reminded Ash of the strange circles in his dreams, but in a more simplistic design. Jessie and Misty couldn't help but wonder why the stadium builders didn't come down here and fix this place. Judging by the bone-chilling vibes, they likely decided ignorance was bliss. Jessie sighed as the group decided to continue to walk forward. "This… is very strange. I guess we entered another hallway," Misty said as the group's steps echoed due to the metal grating. The others nodded, equally as confused. However, after the gang was a few feet in, the door that leads them to this area shut behind them. Jessie gulped as they noticed this. "Looks like there's no going back," She said before looking ahead. The others nodded as they walked down the long hallway. "But why are we even in a hallway? The other doors only went to enclosed rooms. Why was this door different from all the rest?" Misty questioned, not understanding this place. Ash looked at the area as he continued to walk forward. He saw strange symbols that he had no idea what they meant. "I don't know, but maybe this is just an alternate path. Let's get keep…" Ash said, but suddenly he was cut off by oddly… his own voice. " _Oh, hi Xhas. What are you doing here? Came to mock me? To say how everything is MY fault… to say I deserve being alone? Or are you going to ask where Hexxus and Yagami are again? I already told you, I don't know where their secret hiding place is."_ Ash, Misty, and Jessie froze. The gang looked at Ash and then around the area to see where the voice was coming from. They soon notice the area was engulfed in purple while they were walking, but there were no images to go along with the voice. The gang quickly realized this was another memory, but they were confused by the sudden lack of visuals. Not to mention, why would Ash say something like that to his guardian? The answer soon came to them. " _No Edward, I'm not here to do that. I came to check on you. You've been acting… stranger than normal_ ," Xhas said, clearing the group's confusion, but that also made them scared. Edward was so gone that he was now mimicking Ash's voice. The monster laughed, making the children shiver in fear. Hearing such a disturbed laugh from their friend was the most frightening thing. " _I'm NOT acting like MYSELF?! Oh, that's rich! How should I be acting? Happy that I got my Dad in jail? Happy that Edward is now in charge? Angry at my Dad? What? WHAT?! And don't you dare call me by his name! I am not a monster! I… I don't know what I am anymore!_ " Edward yelled as his voice shifted from angry to the verge of tears.

" _Edward…I… I wish there was something I could do to help you, but… I_ can't. _Even if I knew how you got this way, there's no way to fix your broken mind,"_ Xhas said. Ash growled, both the voice and the real version were getting heated up. The real one closed his eyes tried to stay calm. 'This isn't me. Why am I angry at Xhas when he's just protecting me?' Ash thought, unsure of his own feelings. " _Then at least let me back in charge for some time and he and I could rotate who would be in charge. I…want to live with Mom at least…even if I can't do anything to help Dad, Mom still needs me. I don't like doing chores and all the errands she made me do, but it's better than being stuck in my own mind. You're stuck seeing your own life, your voice, everything is taken by some… some brat who thinks you're a bad guy. Who thinks that you're going to destroy everything they built… who thinks you're a mistake created through their own hatred of themselves and others and you can never be anything else."_ Edward said, pleading for 'his' life back. The group kind of felt sorry for the man, but knew they couldn't help him, especially now that he has gained all his powers back. But they were also worried about Xhas since they knew he would somehow disappear from Ash's mind. " _Edward… You really hated Henry Jekyll for creating you. That's why you're trying to be like Ash. You want to pretend that you aren't the horrid monster that you are_ ," Xhas said. Ash's voice growled as Ash felt pure hatred clawing inside his heart, however, the boy didn't know why he was feeling this way. This creature wasn't him, so why was Edward forcing the boy to feel his pain?

" _I am Not pretending to be me! I… I'm just remembering painful times that's all. I… It's not my fault I am like this. Now stop saying things like that! I just want my life back! I'm going to become the greatest Pokémon master, and…and save Dad and Aqua, and… and stop all the bad guys! Just you watch! I'm going to be a hero no matter what you say! At least give me a chance!"_ Edward yelled, acting very much like a scared child and… much like how Ash would act like if he was in that situation. The young boy shivered and continued to walk forward the door at the end of the hall. Misty and Jessie quickly began to follow. " _And how do I know you're not just going to kill someone else? The boy's going to be 8 years old next spring, his life is already messed-up. All you can do is make things worse,_ " Xhas said. Ash flinched at those words. They were the kind of words he had been hearing the screams of terror, but he still couldn't remember anyone saying things like that other than the bullies and Grandpa. Was this the reason those voices existed in the first place? Because Xhas hated him… no, he hated Edward… At that thought, Ash walked faster with Jessie and Misty rushing after him. " _Then you're siding with Edward? You're siding with the creature who's been hurting me? I thought you were my guardian! I… I thought you were here to help me! And what about Luc? Is he siding with the monster as well? Is everyone against me? Hexxus and Yagami keep telling me that I should forget about Edward and just follow them into the darkness! They even said I'm destroying what little mind I have! But they liars! I am me! I'm not Edward! I am not going to let them or you say what I am!_ " Edward's voice screamed, pent up anger was flowing in the real Ash, who was almost to the door. He was almost free from the lies and rage. 'This isn't me. This can't be me. I'm not crazy. I'm not like Edward. I…I…' Ash soon found himself at the door and he quickly grabbed the handle. However, Misty stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. "Ash, I know you're scared of what this implies, hell, Jessie and I are scared as well, but let it finish. If we run away from this memory, then what was the point of watching the others? What was the point of the riddle if it doesn't matter?" Misty asked. The boy froze and thought about. He took a deep breath and relax. "Alright…We'll listen to all of it." He said as he let go of the knob. After a few seconds of silence, they heard Xhas sigh. " _You're truly pathetic. But if that's how you see it then yes, we're with the 'bad guy'. And since we're bad guys now, we now have to trap the hero,_ " Xhas said. Suddenly the sound of chains was heard and Ash screamed in pain. The boy fell to his knees as he felt like he was being entangled by the chains. Suddenly the gang heard Edward's voice grunt in pain as a loud metal bang was heard.

" _Let me out! Let me out! I…I trusted you Xhas! I…I thought you were my friend! NOW LET ME OUT! I…I WANT MY MOM AND DAD!"_ Edward's voice screamed. Ash breathed heavily as an image of the large metal cage appeared in his mind. The walls rotten away showing underneath pieces of metal grates were holding them up. The place was looking more and more like a cage. " _This is for the best, Edward. I know you can't change, no matter what you say. You're only lying to yourself now. Nobody trusts you, nobody likes you, and now, nobody will rescue you from this hole. I hope you rot in here forever."_ Xhas said. Ash was now hyperventilating as he became terrified. " _Let me out! Let me out! I don't deserve this! I want Momma! I want Daddy! I… I…."_ Both the voice and the real Ash said, and suddenly, the boy began to cry. After a few seconds, the purple lighting disappeared and the boy was now softly crying to himself. Misty and Jessie looked at Ash, both scared and confused by all of this. The water trainer soon kneeled next to the boy. "Ash, what's going on? Why are you breaking down like…?" She began to ask but noticed the terrified look on her friend's face. He was in too much of a shock to even listen to her. She sighed and put an arm around his shoulder and then hugged him. "It's alright, Ash. You're not in the hole or whatever Xhas put you in. Xhas is gone, and he's not going to hurt you or put you away. Everything's going to be alright," She said, not even believing what she said. Why is Ash thinking this way? Why is He traumatized by this? This happened to Edward. To the monster, they had been fighting against all this time. Then the answer struck her, and quickly afterward, it struck Jessie as well. Could Ash and Edward? But before they could be horrified by the realization, Ash sniffled as he calmed down. He looked at Misty and smiled. "Y-yeah, I'm not… I'm not in the cage anymore. I'm with my friends and… and… we need to save our other friends and Henry… and… learned why he was acting so strange. We… need to keep going forward," Ash said as he recomposed himself. Jessie and Misty winced.

"Twerp, maybe you should think about these memories before you go on ahead. Especially this one. We're scared of the conclusion we came to and hope you have an explanation for your freak out. What was that all about? Why are you scared of this cage? Edward was only to be locked inside a cage. There's no way you could get stuck in a similar predicament before you went on your journey," Jessie said, very grim. Ash moved out of Misty's hug and got up. "I'm fine, really. I… I was just scared, that's all. I…I don't remember the real event that causes me to be afraid of the cage, but it has nothing to do with this. There's … there's no way to connect Edward to me. I… I'm fine…" Ash said, however, it wasn't convincing them. Misty stood up. "Ash, you're not alright. You're denying this event wasn't affecting you! I know getting hung up on the past isn't good for a person, but ignoring the bad memories isn't good either! If you did have some traumatic event that made you afraid of a cage, then why didn't the memory make us hear that? Why did it instead give an incident that was strictly from Edward's perspective that traumatized him? And don't say Edward is causing this and making you also afraid of the cage. Why would he show us your past and this event to begin with? He adamantly didn't even want us to go in here. He couldn't have planned for this. You're just trying to deny that you and Edward…" Misty yelled, but she was soon silenced by Ash growling. She then looked into his eyes and saw the same cold and soulless look they had seen in his father, causing her to freeze in fear. "I am NOT like Edward! I will never be like Edward! Edward kills people, Edward twisted this town, Edward caused the monsters to appear, and Edward is the reason my family is cursed to be like him! I AM NOT LIKE HIM!" Ash screamed. However, at that moment, the two women realized that they were right about Ash, he was just as bad as Edward, and they became afraid of him. He was dangerous, crazy, and worst, in denial. They soon thought about their options and then sighed. Although they were afraid of him now, he was still their friend, he was still Ash, and… the only way to help him was to keep going. Hopefully, something would come along and make him stop denying the truth. "Alright… Twerp… let's keep moving forward. Surely, we'll find our friends soon," Jessie said, although hesitant to call Ash that. Ash took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded. He grabbed the handle and opened the door. To their surprise, the next room was a fancy living room with three chairs in the middle. There were tables all around the rims of the area and Nick knacks were on each one of them. On the other side of the room was a red door. The group entered the room and heard the door shut behind them. They rolled their eyes and went to the red door. Just when Ash touched the door handle, but it was locked. The gang grumbled in annoyance.

But before they could start looking for a key, the area dimmed down and the purple filter appeared again. Ash took a deep breath and became ready for whatever was going to happen next. The group turned towards the door they came through and saw another Ash. However, this Ash was wearing the same clothes he wore back when his journey started. In two of the chairs were two men both wearing a cape, a white shirt, black pants, and black shoes. One had short, smooth combed brown hair and brown eyes. And the other had sickly yellow eyes and had sloppy red hair that reached his neck. "Th-thank you for getting me out of that cage. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you guys now that Luc and Xhas betrayed me. I just wished you had done it sooner. I…I was alone for so long and…and that monster took my life while I was locked away. But I guess it doesn't matter now. Now I can go get my life back and …" The Young Ash said, a bit shaken up. Ash shocked his head in disbelief. This couldn't be him, this had to be Edward because he was referencing what happened in the last memory. But then why did the monster look like him? Suddenly the brown hair man broke Ash's thoughts and Young 'Ash's' talk. "We didn't let you out to 'take your life back', we brought you back so we could leave this body. We should have done this earlier when you were first showing signs of… this mental mind, but we thought we could salvage this body as our new host as well as destroying Xhas once and for all, but you've… became broken. The only thing we can do now is pick up the pieces and go back to the Realm of Darkness. We're sorry we didn't do this earlier but we didn't have enough energy to create the portal yet. But now we do, so let's go already. Let the boy deal with the creature we imprisoned and forget about this mess," The red hair man said.

"No! I'm not going to run away from my body! Not after Xhas and Luc betray me! I was forced to watch HIM run my life! He's the one everyone loves for some reason! I don't even know how he could trick everyone outside like that, but I can't throw it all away! Plus, I'm not broken! I'm fine! I'm going to take back everything and if it means I must use that energy you built up, then so be it!" Edward yelled. The two older men glared at the boy. The Red head held his head. "Ugh, that's our point. You're acting like you are the kid. You're not thinking straight, even for you, and we need to do something before you're like this for eternity," He said.

"Besides, we're not going to let you do something as idiotic as use this energy for your own stupid plan. We'll find another way to destroy Xhas, but…not now. You're falling apart, and if you try and take over now… Let's just say you'll lose all those friends you want." The Burnette scolded. The Young Edward growled as his body twitched and a red aura formed around him. "No. I will not lose. I cannot lose. Not now. Not to him. I already lost too much. I already suffered too much. **I will not run away. I will not hide anymore. I will destroy the monster. I will destroy Xhas and Luc. I will destroy anyone who gets in my way."** The boy said as his form became bigger, he became muscular, and a large familiar sword formed in his hands. The two men stood up. "Edward, get a hold of yourself. You're going to ruin…" The brown hair man said, then the sword was trusted into his side and red energy flowed out of the man and into the weapon. The red head and Burnette gasped in utterly shocked by what just happened. " **Don't call me his name!"** The monster roared. The man quickly turning into stone as the energy transfer began to stop. Edward soon removed his sword from the stone. "E-Edward, what are you doing? Calm down and think about this. If you take our power, then we'll be stuck in here as statues. You're risking having more power just so we can be stuck here? DO you want to be stuck as something nobody likes or wants?" The red hair asked. The monster growled and then roared before stabbing the guy in the mouth. " **Shut up! Shut up! I will be loved! I will have people praising me and caring about me and… and I'm not a freak!"** The creature yelled as the sword absorbed the man's powers, **"You'll understand when I'm in charge, things will be better! I could make a girl smile. I made her happy. I can do it again. I can have friends and they're going to like me for me! And… and…"** The creature said, then fell to his knees as the man finished turning to stone. The monster suddenly roared as all his senses of logic disappeared. The monster grabbed its sword as a familiar helmet formed on the creature's head and the boy's clothes transformed into the same as clothing as Pyramid Head's. The creature let out one more roar before the purple vision disappeared.

The group held each other after the memory ended and the purple light disappeared. And before they could do anything, they heard the door unlock behind them unlock. Ash was the most shaken up by this memory. The monster sounded like him, acted like him, and at the beginning looked like him. It was hard not to see the truth as it was seemingly staring him in the face. Ash looked at his friends and they flinched as they briefly looked into his eyes. 'Am I really? No… there's no way that's me. But… what can I prove to them that it isn't me? That thing is so much like me. I can't think of something to disprove it's not me. But… but it can't be me. It's so cruel and heartless and so… so much like Dad. I… I can't be that cruel.' He told himself, but every word sounded like denial. He gritted his teeth as he held himself. He soon heard the cries of people calling him a monster, a thing to be afraid of, something that should have never seen the light of day, something that should have stayed in his cage forever, and should've died a long time ago. The boy began hyperventilating as he tried to block out the voices. Jessie and Misty noticed this and were afraid he would snap at them again, or worse, go feral. Misty shocked her head. Their friends were still in danger; they can't stop now. "Ash, we're almost to the end. I can feel it. We need to keep going, just like you said. I know you're scared that this is you and… you're the reason things are like this. Jessie and I are also scared of this possibility too, but we have to see this to the end. I don't know what's going on anymore, but we have to see the truth," Misty said. Jessie nodded.

"And what if this is the truth is that I am a psycho? That… that I killed those three people in Pewter City! That I'm a monster just like Grandpa said! That… That I destroyed this town and killed almost everyone who didn't escape before I trapped them here! How am I supposed to accept that!?" Ash yelled, terrified by how horrible a creature Edward was. However, they had no response. Ash soon covered his mouth as he realized what he just said. He took a deep breath and then looked away. "Let's just go. We got to save Dad… we got to save everyone," He coldly said as he walked to the door and opened it. The two women nodded and followed him into the next room. To their surprise, they found themselves in Ash's room. The group did a double take to make sure they didn't imagine it. Ash quickly noticed they had come out of the closet and the window he had was a fake as the 'sky' it showed was just a painted on. The gang blinked as they entered, the door shutting behind them. "Wasn't expecting a place like this to be here," Misty said. The boy nodded. "Yeah, but why is there a fake version of my room here? There's no way this was here originally, so, is this the last memory place?" He asked, a bit cold. Jessie shrugged. "At least we have another exit to go through." She said. The others nodded. Misty walked up to the front door, but when she tried to open it, it wouldn't move. "What the? Why won't the door open?" She asked. Suddenly the lamp that light the room and their flash lights turned off, making the area pitch black. However, instead of a projector turning or the room become purple, the tv turned on and showed their Edward Hyde on the screen with cold glare on his face. They could only see up to his chest and saw he was in a black void. Ash growled as he looked at the image while Misty turned to the television. "Edward, you're still around? Why are you messing with me? What was up with those memories? Are they real or are you just messing with us? Why did the guardian speaking to me in my head and said I was facing the truth?" Ash asked, revealing that little fact to his friends. Edward soon lowered his head and began to cry. Ash grunted as he felt a sharp pain in his chest and he closed his eyes. "Momma, I want to go home. I hate it here. I…I just want to be with you now. The people are mean and hate my creations. And now…now I'm going to lose my friends forever. I promise not to misbehave and…and to follow your word to only hurt bad guys. Just…JUST MAKE IT STOP! I don't WANT TO WATCH THIS! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER! JUST MAKE IT ALL STOP!" Edward yelled at the screen shut down. Ash breathed heavily as he felt a wave of emotions flowing through him. The boy didn't know what to think or feel as he tried to keep it together. All he could truly feel was regret, shame, and the wanting to go home and see his mom again.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? What is this feeling I feeling? And…why… why am I terrified of the truth?" Ash asked as he held himself, however, Jessie and Misty knew why. Suddenly the area shocked as the group heard something lowered. After a while, the sound and the shaking stopped, leaving the group utterly confused. After a few seconds, the lights lit up and the group gasped in shock. There were two large dark holes in the left side of the room where the floor and ceiling were. The boy's bed had fallen into the hole along with most of the shelves, the items on the shelves, and the tv. Hanging from a chain that was suspended through the top hole was a large oval cage. It was just barely big enough for five people to enter it. Ash froze in fear at the sight of the cage. It was the same one that haunted his mind. The same one that he…Edward was trapped in. "What just happened?" Jessie asked as she scratched her head in confusion. The boy too shocked to respond. "I don't know, but that must be an elevator to the next area," Misty said, however, the idea that they needed to go into the cage made the boy shiver in fear. He turned towards the door Misty was at and began to walk towards the locked door. "Nope. No way. There is no way you're making me ride that… THING! I'm sure if I hit this door enough, we can go through it," The Pokémon trainer said as he forced a smile. The two girls groaned. "Ash, all you're going to do is hurt yourself. This door isn't going to open. If this is cage truly holds the secret between you and Edward, I promise, no matter what we see, I promise to get us out of this place," She said with a smile. Jessie smiled. "We're going to get out of here Twerp. Just trust us," Jessie said. Ash stopped and then looked at her. He looked tired, scared, and his eyes were still red from the crying.

"You're sure I won't be trapped in here?" The boy asked. The water trainer and the member of Team Rocket nodded. He took a deep breath and sighed. 'They're right. Besides, it'll show them that I am not like Edward. They won't fear me. So… I got to do it,' He thought then walked to the cage with Misty by his side. All three entered the cage and after they closed the door of the cage, it began to descend. The boy stood completely still as he tried to keep his cool, while Jessie and Misty looked at each other and then the walls since they couldn't talk about Edward since Ash was with them. The walls were slowly changing from wood to grates but nothing was that interesting until they noticed the walls were disappearing and opening to a room. Nothing was special about the room except the floor was made from grates and in the middle of the room was the same strange symbol they kept seeing. The same symbol that was on Ash's arms. Jessie smiled at Ash. "See, it wasn't that bad, Twerp. It lasted, what? A few minutes or so? We knew you could handle it," The leader of the band of thieves said with a confident smile as the elevator slowed down. Ash simply nodded as the elevator completely stopped. After a moment, Misty walked up to the door of the cage, ready to open it, when sudden there was a loud, familiar, monstrous roar as the gang's flashlights turned off. Ash opened his eyes and the area became covered in a glowing purple light. The group soon gasped as they saw a young boy was on the ground, unconscious. They quickly noticed the boy was Ash and he looked exactly like the one that turned into Pyramid Head, which only confused the group even more. The younger boy groaned as he got up. He looked around and was confused. "Wh-where am I? This isn't my room. Xhas, Luc, where are you? Were you guys the ones who put me back to sleep? If you did, why couldn't you just communicate with me in my head? Today's my big birthday and I don't want to be late for it! Oh man, just a little longer and I'll be a Pokémon trainer," The boy said, getting excited at the end. The group gulped. They didn't like where this was going. Suddenly they heard the roar they heard again, this time as Pyramid Head jumped down from the black 'sky' to in front of the boy. The boy jumped back instinctively and then fell on his butt. The boy grunted and looked up. He froze at the sight of huge creature. The current Ash grabbed the handle to the cage and tried to get it opened, but it was locked tight. Ash growled as he and his friends were forced to watch this. "W-who are you? Where did you come from?" The young Ash asked, terrified by this thing. The large man growled and picked up the boy by his jacket. "Hey, let me go! What's your problem? Who are you?" The soon to be trainer asked. The creature didn't respond as it raised its impractically sized sword to the boy's face.

The boy kicked at the monster's chest but it wasn't working as the creature raised the knife higher so it could slice the boy in half in one clean swipe. Suddenly a large blast of light hit the creature in the back causing it to lose both his grip of the sword and the boy. Both falling on to the grated ground. Ash grunted as he landed on his butt. The monster, young Ash, and the gang looked back and saw Xhas with a very odd-looking weapon. It looked like it was a mix between a key and a sword, it was black and white and it had a lightning design on it. The weapon was glowing, showing it was the man who did that attack. The monster roared as he grabbed his weapon and rushed towards the man. Xhas ran forward to the creature and soon their two blades clashed. Luc suddenly appeared in front of the young boy and grabbed his arms. The young boy looked at Luc in confusion. "Luc, what's going on? What is that thing? Why does it want to kill me?" Ash asked, hoping the guardian would know what was going on. Luc sighed and looked away from the child. "That… thing is Edward and… he's stronger, dumber, and… faster than before. Hexxus and Yagami freed him, but… he destroyed them. Well, at least, he made them almost lifeless since I can't detect their auras anymore. But somehow it made him that much tougher. We need to get away from the creature before he sets his sights back on you, master. He's the one who forced you here and he's not going to stop unless we defeat him once and for all," Luc said. The young boy has terrified that the monster was back and even stronger than before. However, he couldn't help but look at Xhas, who was still fighting fiercely against the giant.

"But that means we have to help Xhas. If Edward is truly that strong All three of us need to defeat him. And once he's gone, I won't have to worry about there being monsters inside of me," Ash said, a bit happy at that. However, Luc was angered by that comment. "No master, you can't join us. It's too dangerous. This is what Edward wants so he can kill you. Even if we're there, he'll still focus on you," Luc said. Both Ashes growled. "And what? Do nothing? Luc, Xhas needs us. I… I won't let him get hurt because of me," Ash said. The current Ash smiled. This was the real him, not Edward. The boy still didn't know why he felt Edward's emotions while the earlier memories were playing, but he was sure this was his real self. The young boy soon formed his own key sword thing in his hands. This time, it was red, black, and white with a wilder look to it. The young Ash pushed Luc to the side and rushed towards the battlefield. "Thunder Surge!" Ash called out and the blade was wrapped in electricity. He then hit Pyramid Head right on his back. Ash smiled, but the creature simply shoved Xhas away and turned towards the boy. The boy felt like a fool as he realized the attack barely fazed that creature and it was barely wounded from Xhas's attacks. The boy and group looked at Xhas, who looked exhausted but thankfully unharmed, however, before the young Ash could recover from this information, he was smacked in the face by Pyramid Head's back hand. The boy grunted as he fell to the ground again. Luc growled and rushed towards the monster. He then shoots an aura sphere at the monster's helmet. The creature grunted and then growled at the nuisance. The creature swigged forward but Luc dodged it. The young boy grunted as he got up, and Xhas catches his breath and rushed towards the creature. The monster was soon hit on the sides by two swords and then punched in the stomach by Luc. The creature fell to his knees as it used its sword as a support. Both Ashes smiled. "Take that you, stupid monster. That's what you get when you mess with us," The past Ash cockily said as the monster simply growled. Xhas smiled and grabbed the monster's arm. "Alright, Edward, time to go back to the cage. You belong there," Xhas said, making the current Ash to oddly freeze. He shocked his head. 'Y-yeah, he belongs to the cage. H-he's a monster. Monsters have to be locked up or else they hurt people,' Ash told himself, but his body was still shivering. The group quickly noticed the monster was shivering as well. Xhas tried to pick the man up, but he was too heavy. "He made himself much heavier than before. I can't move him by myself. Where are those chains when we need them?" Xhas asked.

"I don't know. They should be here…" Luc began to say before he was interrupted by chains coming out of holes and wrapping themselves around the guardian. "W-what the?!" Luc yelled and then looked at the monster, who was standing up. Xhas was picked up by the creature's movement and he quickly jumped off before the creature could grab him. "Edward, h-how are you doing this? You're so dumb that you can't even talk. How are you manipulating the mind scape so easily?" Xhas asked, but was met with no response. The monster simply turned to the man and growled. Ash quickly realized another fight was going to happen and rushed over to Xhas. "Don't worry, I'll help you," Ash said. Xhas wanted to object, but he swiftly knew he needed the help as he landed and grunted in pain. He begrudgingly nodded and looked at the monster as Luc tried to free himself from the chains. The monster roared as black blobs began to form out of the ground. The group blinked as the blobs transformed into the black monsters the group fought in the Sanitarium. "Heartless? How are they in Ash's mind and why are they being held by harnesses? No matter, we'll stop you and them," Xhas said, clearly knowing what these things were. Ash blinked. 'Heartless? Wait, then this must be that event. And those must be the Heartless mom told me about. But why were they in the Sanitarium and how come I haven't seen one until now? I'm so confused.' The present Ash thought as the two figments of memory fought against the Heartless. They were now casting special attacks that helped clear the Heartless. The attacks were large and hit a wide area, but the attacks didn't seem to do anything against Pyramid Head. The giant pushed his minions to the side as he walked up to Ash.

Xhas noticed the monster and blocked a swing from the blade with his own sword that was intended for Ash. The young boy turned towards the two and saw a shadow spring up from the ground, directly behind the man. "Xhas, look out!" The boy yelled and then pushed the man out of the way. The giant's sword hits the shadow, making it turn into black mist as the two males were now on top of each other. Xhas grunted as they landed. "Ash, you should have had just attacked the Heartless instead of just pushing me away! Now the monsters can attack us better!" Xhas yelled as he glared at the past Ash. The young boy began to shiver. "I… I was just trying to help. I was…" Ash said, then grunted as he felt something stabbing his chest. The group gasped in shock and horror as they saw Pyramid Head had plunged his sword into the boy's back. "NOOOO!" Everyone except the monsters screamed. The monster then digs his sword deeper and it penetrates the body and stabs Xhas in the stomach. Xhas gasped in pain as the monster dug deeper before removing its sword from Xhas's stomach and Ash's body, spotless of blood. Xhas grunted as he moved Ash's body off him, flopping onto its back as it blankly stared into the sky. Xhas grunted as he got up and held his wound. Despite the lack of blood, there was a blue energy leaking out of Xhas's wound and past Ash. The present Ash held his chest wound as he felt his body aching in pain. "How… how could you? You…you're killing the master's mind. He's going to disappear and everything he was will be gone." Luc yelled in anger as he breaks out the chains. However, as he rushed towards the monster, the Heartless grabbed Xhas and Luc and forced them to the ground. They grunted as they hit the floor and then looked up at the monster. "What are you going to do with us? What are you going to do with this body? You can never be the boy. You can never replace him. They'll find out the truth. They'll never love you. You can't change this fact, no matter what you believe." Xhas said. The monster growled and then walked up to the boy's body. The boy moaned in pain as he looked up at the creature. "I don't want to die," Ash's voice said, but the characters in the memory couldn't hear it. The huge creature picked the boy up by its free arm and then turned to the two men and the people in the cage. The young Ash grunted as a part of his fingers and feet began to turn into blue mist. "Wait, did you finally realize your mistake? Are… are you feeling regret? Why are you holding the master?" Luc and Xhas asked, not sure what the creature was going to do next.

Suddenly the monster lifted its sword and stabbed itself in the chest. The present Ash screamed in agony as he felt his wound open. He holds his chest as it started to glow green and then red. The present trainer opened his eyes just as the creature removed its sword and tossed onto the ground. It turned into black mist as the weapon hits the ground. Before anyone figures out why the creature was harming itself, the beast grabbed the wound and dug its hand deep into its own chest. The monster and Ash grunted in pain. "If they love this thing so much, I will not let him take away the thing they love! I will not be left alone! I WILL HAVE MY LIFE BACK!" Ash's voice yelled from the monster. Then it ripped something out of his chest and showed the two men it was a large green rock that was jagged and sharp. "They will love me and see me as Ash for once. In…instead of the monster. Mom will be happy… and… and you won't fully lose him. He'll just be in me and… and everything will be happy. You'll see. Th-things will be fine… And…and we…we can be friends again. Just…just like before." The creature said, sounding weaker and weaker as he talked. It then placed the crystal in the hole in the corpse and collapsed on top of the boy. The young Ash breathed heavily before screaming in pure agony as his chest glowed green. Suddenly there was a bright light that engulfed the whole area. Ash, Misty, and Jessie quickly shielded their eyes from the light. After a few seconds, the lights dimmed allowing the trio to lowered their arms. The first thing they noticed all the heartless were gone, the next thing was Pyramid Head's body was gone, and the last thing they noticed was the past Ash was unconscious and fully healed.

Xhas and Luc grunted, causing the gang to shift their eyes back on the guardians. Luc stands up and rushed over to Xhas, who was now slowly turning into blue mist. "Xhas, hang in there. You can make it, I know it. Just…just stay strong and I'll use my energy to heal you. I…I can't lose you too. We…we already lost Ash and now…now he's…," Luc said in a panic, terrified of what just happened. Xhas coughed. "Yeah… I…I wished I could've done something to stop that thing before it…fused with Ash. However, Luc…you can't help me…I'm…I'm too damaged like Ash was, and he only lives because of that…thing. I can't survive any longer. Besides, it's for the best I disappear. I was never meant to exist in the first place. Plus, the rest of me is already absorbed into Ash. He already has my heart and soul. I was just being a stubborn fool and just didn't let my mind and body properly reunited with the rest of me. Now the boy will be a real boy…and…not whatever he was before. Although, I don't if I want him to be whole now that Edward has taken control. There's not going to be any difference between the two now, just like that monster wanted. He's…he is that monster now," Xhas said as more of his body was turning into blue mist. Ash froze at the man's words. "What am I supposed to do with it then? I can't just lock it away again now that it's the master nor could I ever destroy it even if I wanted to such a horrible thing. What am I going to do without you?" Luc asked, very lost, his words stinging Ash like a knife. The boy held his chest. Xhas smiled. "I'm sure you'll find a way," Xhas said, then completely faded into nothingness. Luc cried. Ash held his chest as felt a thousand arrows piercing his heart. After a few seconds, they heard a groan coming from the boy, causing Luc and the group to look at … 'Ash'. The group became fearful as the …boy sat up. "Ow, my head…" The boy said, sounding the same as ever. The boy then opened his eyes and saw the man staring at him. "Huh, who are you?" Ash asked. This shocked the man and the gang. Luc stood up and looked at the boy in confusion. "Y-you don't remember me?" Luc asked. The boy blinked then held his head. "No, but you seem familiar. Who are you, what is this place and why do you look so sad?" 'Ash' asked. Luc and the others didn't know what to say or feel about this. Ash soon recognized this scene. 'This…this is when I lost my memory. I…recognize this strange area so clearly …but …but then that means,' Ash thought then held himself as the horrible truth began to grip him.

"I-I'm Luc, your guardian angel and… you honestly don't remember what this place is? What you just went through? The Heartless and that monster…" Luc said, then stopped himself as he remembered what this boy was. The boy shocked his head. "No. I don't remember much actually. I just remember my name is Ashton Ketchum, I love my mom, and my best friend is Gary Oak… Wait…there is something else I remember… oh my God, I almost forgot it's my tenth birthday! I'm going to be a Pokémon trainer soon and it's going to be so cool. I'll be on my own adventure, I'll have a lot of Pokémon, and I'll be the greatest Pokémon master EVER. I can't wait to get out of here and… oh yeah, Mr. Guardian, how do I exit my mind?" Ash asked, showing no signs that anything was different about him. Luc chuckled at how Ash was still Ash. "Don't worry, you'll wake up soon. Just close your eyes and eventually, you'll wake up… however, you won't be able to see me once you do." Luc said, making the little boy sad. The boy held himself. "But…what happened to me and what's this heartless thing you talked about?" Ash asked, confused. Luc looked away. "A… monster hurt you, Ash. It…caused you to lose your memory and… caused me to lose some…thing dear to me. But it's gone now and I hope never comes back. But enough about the monster, your mother is probably worried sick about you. You should go back to the real world now. Don't worry about me, we'll meet again," Luc said as he looked at the past Ash and smiled. The boy smiled back. "Okay. Bye, Luc," He said as he waved goodbye. Luc nodded and waved back. "Yes. Goodbye, for now, Ash," Luc said. The youth soon closed his eyes and faded away, along with the man and purple mist.

The shock caused by the memory did not fade as the flashlights regained their light. The gang could not believe what they had just watched. Ash was shaking uncontrollably as the images processed in his mind. He knew he always feared the metallic cage in his mind, but he would never expect this was the reason. "T-twerp, wh-what's going on? Th-that memory showed you and Edward and…and… Is… Is Eddie really…?" Jessie began to ask; however, she was soon silenced by Ash's glare. Jessie became scared, she could tell the boy was at his limits. "OF COURSE NOT! THAT… THAT MONSTER ISN'T ME! He… he can't be… me… There's no way that's me…" Ash yelled, quitting at the end. Misty looked at her friend. He was now shaking badly. Ash held his head. "This… this can't be… I'm not… I wouldn't… he's not…" Ash said as his mind circled over the memory. He then closed his eyes. "Make it stop. Make it stop. I… I want momma and daddy…" Ash mumbled out. However, his mind soon went to what 'daddy' said. Suddenly Ash rushed out of the cage and into the large. "Ash!" The two yelled out. However, Ash ignored them. He had to get out of this place. 'Daddy… daddy will stop this… daddy will help me… he lo-loves me. He's not like that… that other version,' He thought as he busted through the cage's door. Misty and Jessie quickly rushed after him. They knew they had to help their friend. The group suddenly noticed the room was slimming down into a hallway. Ash, however, ignored all of it as he kept running. He couldn't hear his thoughts anymore as his heart beat heavily. Misty and Jessie panted as they tried to keep up with the boy. "Ash, please, slow down!" Misty yelled at her friend. And to her surprise, he did, but they soon saw why. The boy had reached a sudden stop. The two women quickly slowed down as they reached a sort of intersection. There was one iron door straight ahead. Two rusty staircases led to similar doors on both sides. Jessie and Misty blinked in confusion before he pointed to the two higher doors. "You and Misty take a door, I'm going straight ahead," Ash ordered. All could feel was his hatred of what he had just seen. He ignored the pain of the wounds he reopened in his own hearing. Misty, however, did notice his wounds and the small tears dripping from his face. "Ash…Edward… whoever you are… before we rush in, we need to…" She said but was soon cut off by her friend.

"I'm not Edward." The young boy coldly said. Jessie and Misty were shocked to hear his answer and angry. "What are you talking about?! We read the note, we saw the memories, and you… you're reverting to being like him. There's no way to deny this anymore," Jessie said. Ash soon let out a monstrous laugh that frightened the girls. "Why should I believe anything those… those things told me!? They were just created to distract me from Dad. To keep his loving arms away from me. All of them were created by that MONSTER! All of it was a lie! There's… there's no way I'm a freak who, who murders people and Pokémon. It's… It's all a big, **stupid lie!** " Ash yelled as he sounded more like the monster he was. Jessie and Misty froze as they saw how truly broken their friend was. There was no sign that this was the same Ash they knew and cared for. This was a horrible creature who would kill anything that said he was wrong. There was no chance for any argument; Ash had already run toward the iron door. Misty wasted no time in taking the door on the left, and Jessie went up the staircase to the right. "On three. One… two… three!" Ash yelled, and then the busted through the doors.


	29. Chapter 28

ch. 28

Ash, Misty, and Jessie suddenly busted into the area. The room was huge with two platforms on the left and right of the room that were about ten feet from the floor. There were fans on the walls, radiating frigid air throughout the room, cooling the red paint/blood caking the area. Iron bars surrounded the two side platforms, apparently to prevent anyone interfering from whatever was going on in the center or back of the room. James, Tracy, Ms. Gillespie, Axew, and Pikachu were in cages on both sides, with Jessie being where the Pokémon were being held and Misty being on the side of the humans. Miss Rose looked at the arena in sheer happiness. "Oh, thank the lord, we're saved!" Rose yelled. Misty and Jessie smiled as they began working on unlocking the prisons. James and Tracy were relieved to see their friends arrive to save them, but any happy reunions were deadened when Ash noticed the back of the room. "DAD!" Ash screamed. Jessie and Misty looked at the back and were shocked to see that Henry was sitting on a chair on the back platform. Ash's eyes lit up in excitement as he noticed the man was no longer covered in bandages, however, it only confused Misty and Jessie. Why wasn't he in a cage like the others? "Oh, thank Arceus, you're safe and free! We've been so worried about you. I… I've been so scared. But… but everything is going to okay. Edward is gone and once I defeat Pyramid Head e-everything should be returning to normal. We can finally leave this place and be a family again. You…you'll finally get to see Mom again," Ash said with a wide grin on his face as tears fell down his face. Henry looked away. "Did you see all of the visions? Do you finally know what is going on?" Henry coldly asked, causing the boy to blink in confusion along with everyone else. Misty and Jessie knew something was wrong with Henry, but they didn't know what. "Y-yeah, but they couldn't be real. There's…there's no way I'm…I'm what that vision said I was. They…they were just made by Edward or Pyramid Head to scare me away from you and the others. You love me, Daddy. And…and I…I love you," Ash said, but every word sounded like he was on the verge of losing control. A sharp anger filled Ash's heart for a moment, before fading away. The boy shocked his head and looked at his father. Everyone except Jessie, Misty, and Henry were confused on what happened to Ash.

"Jessie, what's with the Twerp? He's actin' nuttier than Peanut Butter and why is he not all buff?" Meowth asked. Pikachu agreed, wanting to know what happened to his best friend. Jessie sighed and looked away. "I think you'll learn soon enough," She said as a dark feeling was in the air. Suddenly soft music was beginning to play causing the group to be very confused. "It's over now, I know inside. No one will ever know, the sorry tale of Edward Hyde and those who died. No one must ever know. They only see the tragedy. They do not see my intent. The shadow of Hyde's evil will forever taint the good that I had meant…" Henry sang. Ash became confused and scared. "D-dad, wh-what are you talking about? Y-you have nothing to do with Hyde! I'm not HYDE!" Ash yelled, however, he was terrified for his life. Henry sighed and looked away as he pulled a knife from behind his back. "Am I a good man? Am I a MAD man? It's such a fine line between a good man and a…" Henry sang. Suddenly Ash growled and slammed his foot down the ground, making a loud clanging sound. Henry imminently dropped the knife and looked at the boy. "Do you ever think that I would EVER let you go? Do you think I'd ever set you FREE~? If you do, I'm sad to say that simply isn't so~, you will never get away from me!" Ash sang, unable to stop the bitterness in his heart. Henry angrily looked at the boy. "All that you are is a face in the mirror! I close my eyes and you disappear!" Henry angrily sang. Ash sneered at the man as the anger took control. "I'm what you face when you face in the mirror! Long as you live I will still be here." Ash sang as a monstrous smile formed on his face. Jessie and Misty quickly tried to ignore the singing as they tried to free their friends. "All that you are in the end of a nightmare. All that you are is a dying scream. After tonight, I will end this demon's dream," Henry sang as he picked up the fallen knife. Ash stepped forward as he began to laugh like a maniac. Pikachu and the others were scared. This wasn't Ash. There was no way this could be their friend.

"This is not a dream my friend, and it will never end. THIS one is the nightmare that goes ON! HYDE is here to stay no matter what you pretend. And he'll flourish long after you're gone!" 'Ash' sang. Tracy, James, Rose and the Pokémon gasped in shock and confusion. Hyde? But how? "What's going on with the Twerp? Why is he saying he's that Edward guy?" The cat creature whispered to her. Jessie flinched at the question but said nothing as she continued to fiddle with the lock. Henry snarled at Edward, causing Meowth to look at the arena. "Soon you will die and my memories will hide you. You cannot choose but to lose control!" Henry sang as he stood up. Edward glared at the man as he walked closer. "You can't control me! I live deep inside you! Each day you'll feel me devour your soul!" Edward sang as a dark aura began to form around his body. Henry smirked as a similar looking aura surrounded his body. He then pointed it at the boy. "I don't need you to survive like you need me! I'll become whole as you dance with death! And I'll rejoice as you breathe your FINAL BREATH!" Henry sang. The boy laughed like a maniac as his friends shivered. "I'll live inside you FOREVER!" Ash said. Henry growled then threw the knife. "No!" Henry protested. Ash dodge the attack as the knife clanged against the metal floor behind the 'boy'. "With Giratina, himself, by my side!" Edward sang as he looked at the man. Henry clutched his head and closed his eyes. "NOO!" Henry bellowed out in rejection. Edward smiled widely as his chest glowed red. "And I know that NOW and FOREVER! THEY'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SE-PERATE JEKYLL AND HYYYDE!" He sang. Henry angrily shocked himself out of his fear and glared the boy. "CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S OVER NOW!? IT'S TIME TO DIE!" Henry sang. Edward glared back at Henry and points at the man. "NO, NOT I! ONLY YOU!" Edward sang. Henry clutched his fists and then looked at the people and Pokémon on the other balconies. "IF I DIE, YOU DIE TOO!" Henry sang. The creature put his finger down and put that hand on his chest. "You'll die in me! I'LL BE YOU!" Edward protested.

"DAMN YOU HYDE, LEAVE ME BE!" Henry begged/sang. Edward growled again and stomped forward. "CAN'T YOU SEE? YOU ARE ME!" Edward sang. Henry looked away. "NOO! But deep inside," Henry sang as he held his chest. Edward smirked despite feeling a similar pain in his own chest. "I AM YOU! YOU ARE HYDE!" The monster sang. Henry glared at the creature in utter disgust. "No, Never!" Henry yelled. Edward stepped forward, now almost a foot away from the platform. "YES, FOREVER!" Edward sang. Henry growled at the creature. "GOD DAMN IT HYDE! TAKE ALL OF YOUR EVIL DEEDS AND ROT IN HELL!" Henry yelled. Edward soon began laughing. "I'll see you there, Jekyll!" Edward said then continued to laugh as the music faded away. The gang looked at horror at the monster they saw on the floor. They couldn't believe what they were watching, however, they were more confused than ever. The monster looked around for a way to get up to the man, however, the boy couldn't see a way to get up there. Edward growled as he reached the wall of the platform. The thing quickly grabbed the wall and dug his hands into the bricks. "I'm going to get you, Henry! I'm going to make you pay for what you've done! I'm…I'm…" Edward yelled, but the pain in his chest was making his head hurt. The creature lets go of the wall and holds his head. "I'm…I'm…" The creature said as it stumbles back. After a few seconds, the pain lifted, allowing the creature to open its eyes and look at the man. The monster became terrified as he noticed the look of fear on everyone's faces, especially on his best friend's and father's faces. "No…no…No! Dad, Pikachu, that…that WASN'T ME! That was Edward! He took over! He…He's the one to threaten you! Not me! I…I…I'm not…I'm not a MONSTER! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN!" Ash yelled, however, the gang didn't know what to think.

"The time for games is over, Hyde. They know the truth. They aren't going to listen to any more of your lies. Or are you that despite to make them think you're just Ash Ketchum? That you're not responsible for your crimes," Henry said. The boy looked at his hands and then flashed back to the giant monster his younger self-transformed into. 'I-it didn't happen! I'm not a monster! I'm not a killer! I'm NOT EDWARD HYDE!' Ash yelled at himself. Suddenly he felt the pain in his chest worsen again. 'No! I…I can't let him take over again!' Ash yelled. _'Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.'_ The monster's voice said in the boy's head. The boy breathed heavily as he closed his eyes. 'SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I…I…I JUST WANT THIS ALL TO STOP! MAKE IT END NOW!' Ash screamed in his head. Suddenly a large shadowy figure appeared behind Henry. Henry noticed the presence behind him and froze. "Wh-what? What are you doing here? I thought you were gone!" Henry yelled, causing the boy to look up and freeze in fear. It was Pyramid Head and he was holding a large spear. The giant quickly grabbed Henry by the neck with one hand. Pyramid Head shifted his colossal spear, raising the sharp end and pointing it straight at Henry's body. "NO! PLEASE! DON'T-!" Ash screamed. Everyone watched, shock still and silent with horror. Nobody could do anything... the metal bars blocked any attempts at attack. Pikachu tried to Thunderbolt, but the bars absorbed the hit before it could reach Pyramid Head. This was not happening! It can't end like this! It couldn't! All this pain, all this horror, all the deaths, could not amount to this! He did not come all this way to just watch his father... "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Ash screamed as his hand reached out.

 _KKSCHUNK!_

The metal blade erupted through Henry's chest. The man's face froze in an expression of shock and pain, although no one could see it. Pyramid Head shifted the blade again before forcibly extracting it from the dead man's body. And then there was silence as Pyramid Head threw the corpse onto the arena in front of Ash. The boy saw the horrid look on the man's face and his mind flashed back to the first man he killed. Ash sank to his knees in shock, his head falling numbly. His father had been killed right in front of his eyes. After he had gone through hell to save him. He had endangered himself, his friends, for nothing. His friends now saw him as a freak and his father was gone. All because of this monster... Pure unbridled rage built up in the boy, threatening to consume him again. Everything he knew slipped away to focus on his hatred for this murderer. He raised his eyes to cast a baleful glare at his tormentor when he noticed something. He blinked as he shifted to look at the body in front of him, trying to make sure he wasn't imagining it. "Wh... wait a minute..." He said as he realized something. The group soon noticed it too. There was no blood coming out of Henry. "I saw you do this before... the-there should... should be..." Ash babbled. There wasn't a speck of red in Pyramid Head's weapon nor on Henry's corpse. "There should be blood everywhere... Dad... Henry... is..." Ash said. No blood. Ash's featured warped even further into fury. "Just like..." It all became clear. "Just like the creatures outside. He's not real, just another construct...made by that…madman," Ash said. He got up to his feet, shaking in absolute rage. "Made to... get me back into this... hell hole... keep me here... fake... dad..." Ash said. All that fear. All that insanity. All the danger he had put his friends through. All of it was for nothing. Absolutely. Nothing. This was even worse than how he felt when he thought Henry was dead or when he thought Henry was going to destroy him. Infinitely worse. All the fury and hatred he felt had tripled. The room began to darken. A scratching noise was heard at the doorways behind the group. "WHY?" Ash finally roared. He stared up at the colossal Pyramid Head. The murderer, the monster, the manipulator of these events and of Edward.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? WHY AM I HERE!? WHY ARE YOU HERE!? ANSWER ME, DAMMIT! **ANSWER ME!"** Ash screamed. His voice became a monstrous version of itself as his anger rose. There was a silence. Ash continued to glare at the executioner in unbridled rage. The scratching at the door grew louder. Nobody moved, in too much shock from this development.

 **"You want to know, boy?"** The announcer's voice rang out. The voice made everyone flinch. Pyramid Head's helmet had shifted in time with the voice. Ash blinked. Did… did he just talk? **"You would have my answer to** ** _you?"_** The monster asked. Everyone shivered in fear. This was the terrifying voice from the radio. The powerful, horrific voice that had taunted them for trying to leave. The voice from the telephone that had called Ash. Pyramid Head. Jessie, James, and Meowth realized it was the same Pyramid Head who had asked for their help, but that only made them more confused. The executioner's helmet shifted as if he was shaking his head in amusement. **"Brave fool. Still, it is time to end this game. Would you like to hear the end of the story, boy?"** The monster asked. Ash didn't answer, still growling at the monster above him as his eyes glowed red and became lizard-like. **"The executioner knew that he and the Empress had the crown jewel. A 'jewel' that harnessed a magnificent power and a terrible curse. But the boy would not willingly go to the executioner and the Church was still bent on making the boy become his true self. So, the executioner decided to trick three jesters into capturing the boy by convincing them they could control the boy when in reality they were going to send him into hell. However, the jesters were too late and the boy had been marked. He was slowly becoming his monstrous form despite him not being worthy. The executioner planted a seal in the boy to slow his body down while he empowered the jewel. The Executioner left the boy alone and took cover as the fake father. He then made sure no one removed the seal, otherwise, the boy would begin to lose control again. So, he gave his faithful puppet a fake seal to show the boy's friends to make sure they wouldn't think the boy was in trouble. It was all because the evil king didn't know about the boy's true identity, who he thought was just a vessel for the beast. If the boy showed signs of his true nature, the evil king would find out and try and capture the boy. But the Duke got cocky and let the beast escaped into the wild. The creature ricked havoc until the king recaptured him and made him his slave again. The evil king thought he had finally gotten control of the creature as he tried to defend himself against the town. But the boy and beast would not allow the king to control them and went on a rampage again. During the rampage, one of the jesters used the spell of awakening and sent the boy and monster to hell where they belong. However, the boy wouldn't let himself suffer through this alone so he dragged everyone inside his messed up world. A world of cruelty, madness, monsters, and a tyrannical leader who's scared of the truth about himself. A hell where he was emperor and the town's fool. The end."** Pyramid Head said. Ash growled. "What does that have to do with anything?" Ash yelled. If the narrator was angry with the interruption, he didn't show it. **"Think about it, boy."** Pyramid Head said.

"Fine." The young boy huffed before he thought about it, "The executioner, that's YOU, obviously. Alessa's the empress... crown jewel... Perlis is the 'evil king'. Edward's the beast, Team Rocket is the jesters, and Tobias is the Duke. The crown jewel... it must be that power that gave Alessa to take over the town. She said something about that with the power to create those monsters outside. Influence them. Alright, so that power belongs to you too. Edward can use the power, but you feared that Perlis could use it for something bad, so you decided to awaken it in…his host…" Ash said a gripping fear entered his heart. Pyramid Head didn't say anything. The scratching at the door became even louder. Nobody spoke as Ash's eyes grew very wide. "...no," Ash said as fear began to consume him. A noise could be heard on the other side of the door. "Daddy... Daddy... Daddy..." The voices of the 'Cubone' monsters called. Ash soon felt memories flooding his mind. He remembered killing so many people as… as… "No." Ash gasped. No. Not him. Not him, not him, not him, not him. No. Suddenly his mind went back to the memories he, Jessie and Misty saw. He shocked his head. These… these had to be memories forced into when Edward rejoined with him or whatever had happened to the creature when it disappeared in a flash of light. "Daaaaaadddddyyyyyy..." The voices cry out. Ash clutched his head. "NO! I'M NOT HIM! " Ash screamed. Misty and the others looked at Ash as he began to cower in fear. **"Those creatures didn't look familiar to you? Did you really blind yourself to the fact that this is a mirror image of your world? That 'Edward' was a mirror image of you? That you weren't the same boy as before?"** Pyramid head asked. Ash could feel madness filling his mind. He could hear himself laughing like a maniac as he killed those people at the stadium and at Pewter City.

 _'You're quite used to a world of monsters, aren't you?'_ Alessa's question repeated in Ash's mind. "Nononononononononono..." Ash repeated in denial. Ash held his head. "DADDY!" The voices became louder. Pyramid Head chuckled. **"Your children wait outside to do your bidding and take your fury out on me. On what you are meant to be,"** Pyramid Head said. The boy fell to his knees as his body shocked. 'THEY'RE NOT POKEMON! THEY'RE NOT-' Ash thought as he clenched his teeth. _'All those creatures... like some sicko's idea of Pokémon.'_ Misty's voice said. Ash closed his eyes harder. "It doesn't change a thing! EDWARD IS JUST MANIPULATING ME! Even…even if this horrible power is in me, I'M NOT A MURDERER LIKE HIM! I'm not the reason! Dad! Yeah…YEAH! It's Dad's fault! That… THAT THING STILL ISN'T ME! I'M NOT EDWARD!" Ash roared. Pyramid Head laughed at this, making the boy even angrier. **"Pathetic. You think you can deny what you truly are inside. You think you have a soul. You truly are a wonder, Edward."** The monster said. Ash pulled out his steel pipe from his bag. "STOP IT! STOP LYING! I AM NOT EDWARD! I'M NOT A MONSTER! I'M ASH KETCHUM! I'M ASHTON KETCHUM!" Ash screamed. The creature looked down at the boy and then towards the doors. They were scratching even harder. "DADDY!" The voices screamed. Ash covered his ears as he tried to ignore theirs pleases for attention. **"Then what will prove it to you? You deny everything just so you can pretend to be human. That you are a 'good boy' that will become a champion of this world. But you kill innocent people and trap a whole town just so you wouldn't be alone. If I had my way, only Perlis and your friends would have to face the horrors of your mind, but you couldn't help yourself. You encompassed everyone in the fog, and when they started fearing your creations, you made the monsters kill them. After all, that's what monsters do. They kill, destroy, and obliterate everything even things they see. They cannot feel true feelings. They are mindless and soulless,"** Pyramid Head said. Ash growled as his eyes, the marks on his shoulders, and the scar on his chest glowed red. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'M ASH! I'M ASH! I'M ASH! I'M!" Ash yelled, then his mind flashed back to Edward screaming and yelling at Hexxus and Light Yagami. The boy closed his eyes. 'I…I didn't do that…' Ash thought then opened his eyes and saw the corpse. He soon flashed back to the 'daddy' who made him kill. He soon saw his 'dad' smile at him and tell him he did an excellent job. 'No. I…I didn't…do that… that wasn't me…' Ash thought then flashed back to 'Pyramid Head' putting his soul into the boy's body.

The boy held its head. "N-no…I'm not…" The creature muttered but soon stopped when it heard its voice was Edward's. "M-my voice. Why?" Ash held himself as he became paralyzed in fear. It soon hit him like a bag of hammers. All of this was because of him. It all became clear. This was his power. All these monstrosities were his creations. He... he is Edward Hyde. And he brought these things into the world and made them act like wild Pokémon roaming the wilderness. Everyone else stared at the kneeling boy with wide eyes and horror plastered on all. They didn't know what to say about this. "My fault… All my fault..." Ash mouthed as he turned to Pyramid Head, his voice still sounding like Edward's, "I'm influencing these creatures... I am Edward Hyde..." Tears rolled down his face. Everyone in the room except for Pyramid Head gasped in shock. **"Yes. You finally understand,"** Pyramid Head said, **"All that you have known, all you have understood, tainted with your twistedness and brought to life by your power. Acting as you would assume they'd act, reacting to your anger and fear. All the way to your idealized version of your father..."** He motioned to the bloodless body that Ash had hoped was his father. **"... and... how Xhas and Luc treated you."** Suddenly, Henry began to twitch violently. Like no natural creature would. His head whipped about like the faceless nurses. His body began to warp as well, becoming less and less human. Everyone stared at the rattling Henry as he transformed. **"For what it's worth, I did warn you about this,"** He said. Pyramid Head suddenly tossed the spear down. The iron rod clattered in front of Ash and between Henry, who was still mutating. Pyramid Head turned and began to walk away. "Hey!" Ash cried out in an almost pathetic voice, "Where do you think you're..."

 **"You worthless, idiotic, pathetic little SHIT!"** A voice Ash and Pikachu hadn't heard in a long, long time yelling. Ash whirled about at the sound of 'Henry's' voice. The creature was now standing up, but it was hard to tell what it was. **"Should've aborted! Waste of space! Wretched mistake! Never should've had you, you little bastard!"** Henry - or more accurately, the thing that was Henry – yelled as it shifted its body to a more threatening stance. It was still mutating too fast to get a clear image of what it had become. Before anyone could react, it had leaped into the air and landed behind the boy. It then grabbed the knife and crushed it as the boy to turn towards the creature. **"You'll never amount to anything, you worm! You're nothing! NOTHING!"** 'Henry' yelled. The boy gasped at what his 'father' had become. Henry's skin had become leathery and scarred with cuts, his hands warped into monstrous claws clutching a bone like a bludgeon that had literally erupted from its skin. His face had warped the worst, resembling a horrific combination of Pyramid Head's helmet and a Marowak's skull. Two hateful ruby red eyes stared down the horrifying creature as it raised its club to kill. The boy lets go of the pipe out of fear. **"This is all your fault!"** It roared in a voice no longer sounding human, before breaking the pipe in half and throwing it to the sides of the arena, **"YOU'RE NO SON OF MINE!"**

...

Back at the hospital, Cilan had his hands full trying to stop the bleeding of a hysterical woman. Several more people had appeared in the hospital sanctuary, apparently from outside. Cilan and the other doctors were doing everything in their power to keep them calm. Tobias and his force had arrived back to regain their strength. However, everyone was still on edge. Eventually, Cilan could calm the woman down enough to finish the bandaging. The boy took a deep breath. The hospital basement seemed to be overflowing now even though several bolder patients found clear rooms on the higher floors where the people would go for more room. However, nobody was brave enough to go up there in case those monsters were laying out a trap. Cilan could still hear the snapping noises of the nurse creatures stalking around up there. Lisa came in, supporting someone with a broken leg. Setting the man on a table, she went to work applying anesthesia and setting the leg. "They just keep coming," Cilan remarked, "I thought the town had been emptied before all this." Tobias sighed as he and his Pokémon finished healing themselves up. He felt so guilty for causing all of this. "We tried to get out, believe me," The injured man said. Several other people nodded with him. "The buses stopped coming after last night. We were still waiting at the bus stop when that six armed… THING jumped us. Several people were killed because of it," Another man said. Many people shivered as they remembered their own ambush by the monsters. "We should've gotten a rowboat. It wouldn't have found us if we had," A woman said. Suddenly a man stood up and looked out the door. "If those things got into the water, then... then who knows how far they could go," He said and then gulped in fear. Cilan nodded. It would be scary if that happened. "I saw a bunch of them in the lake. Arceus, their claws..." Another woman said. A lot of the people around her were shocked to hear this. "What? Is that true?" Claudia said, surprised. The other woman nodded. "Yeah. They…they were attacking each other and trying to gain dominance over the lake," She said. The place became quiet again. Lisa finished her work on the man's leg and turned to Cilan. "You're good at this," She said. Cilan couldn't help but blush. "Thanks. Although…I'm worried about Ash and the others," Cilan said. He glanced at Iris, who was staring numbly at the ceiling. Lisa tried to reassure him. "They'll be alright," Lisa said. Cilan sighed. "What makes you so sure?" He asked.

Lisa looked away. "I just... know. And…my head…it's starting to hurt. But don't worry, we'll get out. Besides, Tobias is a very smart man with powerful Pokémon. So no need to worry," She reassured him. Cilan smiled as he looked her. "Yeah... I hope we can get out." Cilan said, causing Tobias to smile. Cilan wanted more assurance, but something was... wrong. He could feel it. Ash was in trouble. Of course, Ash was in trouble a lot, but this was different. Very different. This wasn't a matter of stopping some petty crooks or defeating a rival. This was a matter of life-and-death. But then again, with the monsters out there it's hard not to think that way. And Lisa…was going to another section of the basement and hoping someone had a fire Pokémon or a lighter. Cilan prayed that they were alright. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted when one of Tobias' men came through the door. "Tobias, Tobias, come quick, I …I found this door in one of basement rooms after I burned off some Ivy. It could lead to more secure rooms than the ones upstairs," The man said, shocking the whole area. Tobias smiled as he got up. "Really? This is great. Alright, we should go down there just to be safe." Tobias said. The other members of Tobias's group agreed. Suddenly Lisa got up. "Wait, a secret basement? I must go there as well. I've never heard of a secret basement before," Lisa said. The other doctors agreed. "Be careful Lisa. We haven't used it for a long time, so it could be dangerous. It's why we didn't mention it before," One of the doctors said. Lisa, Tobias, and the group of trainers nodded before they left the area. Cilan sighed, he hoped everything was going to end well.

...

Ash breathed heavily as he stared at the huge monster he had once called 'dad'. Pyramid Head's revelation had shaken him to his core. It was had shattered him more than what monster could ever do to his body and was more crushing that even his harshest defeats. What more, he didn't have time to be paralyzed; he didn't have time to think things over and come to grips with it. Not with the creature that had once been Henry charging at him like a Rhyhorn. **"RRRRAAAAAAAH!"** The monster roared as swung his bone club at Ash, nearly smashing him to bits as the young boy ducked under the attack. Ash looked around for a way to save himself, but the creature quickly attacked again, aiming to crush the troubled boy with his weapon. Ash hurriedly blocked the attack with his pipe, but the pipe soon gives way and splits into two, the attack ripping a part of Ash's shirt. The boy jumped back and panted as he stared into the monster's eyes. Ash soon saw for a moment himself and then the strange six-armed monster. The boy shocked his head and saw the monster was charging at him with another attack. The Pokémon trainer quickly distanced himself from the abomination, nearly dodging the monstrosity's attack. Did he once think this thing was his father? It felt like forever ago for him. Roaring with rage and making no attempts at the sounding human, the mutated construct swung his bludgeon again, missing Ash by a mile. 'Henry' realized his quarry was out of range and charged again, infuriated. Survival instinct took over any confusion Ash felt at that moment. Rolling away from the monster's attack, the boy formulated how he would keep this thing from killing him. The answer was very close.

Meanwhile, Pikachu tried to send another electric attack through the bars, but it was hopeless. The electricity was absorbed by the metal, never reaching the monster threatening his master. Misty, Jessie, and the others were still stunned by what had been revealed. They watched Ash and 'Henry' fight, uncertain if they should be cheering or not. Tracy's thoughts were more confused than ever as the monster chased Ash. He was angry and afraid, but he wasn't quite sure who he was mad at. However, Misty and Jessie soon recovered and opened the cages. The main leader of Team Rocket then quietly urged them to leave with her. Unfortunately, when she opened the door, she got a nasty surprise. The scratching noises at the door were caused by a swarm of the skull-headed children, all of them banging at the door and calling for 'Daddy'. The sheer number of the knife-wielding creatures scared Jessie from going downstairs, afraid that they would take her as an enemy. She quickly shut the door and as a result, everyone continued to watch this horrible event in silence.

'Henry' shrieked again, enraged that he was constantly missing. Why was Ash so fast? Was he truly becoming more like Pyramid Head? It didn't matter. If the boy made one mistake, he was dead meat. Another swipe. This time, Ash's shoulder got slashed, ripping the symbol in half. He screamed in pain as blood leaked out of his wound. He was starting to slow down due to fatigue. The boy looked around for a way to end this madness, and quickly saw the answer to his current problem on the floor. Pyramid Head's spear, the metal thing the murderer had tossed down after slaughtering the fake father of his. Why hadn't he finished the job? How is this creature even alive if Pyramid Head gouged its chest out? It didn't matter now. Ash looked over his bleeding shoulder and saw the monster raising his club for another attack. The boy didn't waste any time. Running towards the black spear, he got out of Henry's range as the club hit the floor with a dull thud. Ash ran past the spear, grabbing it off the ground. Henry, fed up with the fruitless attacks, tossed his club aside and revealed its claws. It was faster without its weapon, and it ran towards Ash with talons drawn and ready to slice him to ribbons. The Henry monster leaped towards Ash, claws eager to trend the boy to piece and mouth open in a roar. Ash whirled around, bringing the sharp point of the spear upwards. When Henry came down, it came down right on the point. The spear jabbed into the top of its mouth, and as the creature sank to the ground, the spear went right through the monster's skull, emerging from the back of its head. Its body went limp, claws hitting the floor uselessly. Ash smiled slightly, seeing that the monster was as good as dead. That was easy. Then the creature croaked, in a voice unmistakably the king of Pokelantis. **"Ash..."** He said. The boy's eyes went wide. **"I... I'm... disappointed..."** He said. The adrenaline that spurred Ash on suddenly wore off and the boy shoved the spear-impaled creature aside, taking several steps backward. The thing that had once appeared to be his father teetered for a minute and then fell backward with the spear still embedded in its skull. No-one moved. The scratching at the door stopped. There was a dead silence.

Ash breathed heavily and then grabbed his wound to try to stop the bleeding. He glanced up at Misty and Tracy. But he didn't see any admiration or sympathy in their horrified faces. Just shock and horror. They were staring at him as if they were staring at an inhuman monster. Was he? He couldn't tell, after all, he had done as Edward Hyde. This was all because of him. The creatures were springing from his mind, acting as he thought they would. Like Pokémon who attacked sight, but whose attacks were deadly and fatal. They responded to his emotional state and Edward's commands, becoming more aggressive whenever he got angry. How many people had been killed by his anger? Killed by Edward? His true feelings, who killed people even when Ash was happy or calm. Ash numbly stepped away from the corpse he had once hoped was his father. He babbled for a second, trying to find something to say. But nothing was there. His mouth was dry and dead. The boy looked at his hands and saw blood all over them. He could feel the monster want to laugh and attack more people. Kill more innocent people who were trapped in this hell and hurt anyone who disagreed with him. It soon hit him. He was no better than Pokelantis or Perlis. Overwhelmed with guilt and convinced that his friends now feared and hated him. Ash Ketchum did the only thing he could think of. He ran. He ran out of the room, out of the long blood covered hallway and oddly into the white hallway without having to use the elevator, out of the basement, and out of Pyramid Head's hideout. He ran out of the stadium. He ran past the Pokémon and people murdered by the monsters he had dreamed up and his true self. He ran past Luc who was confused by Ash's sudden rush. "Ash! Where are you…!?" Luc yelled out, but it was too late, the boy had already exited the building. He ran through the streets, passing under the hanging corpse of a man overcome with fear and despair. He ran through the mess of wires, blood, and grates that were once Yoka Village, a place of hopeful dreams and opportunities forever destroyed. When he couldn't run any further, he fell to his knees and began weeping.

"It's all my fault. It's all my fault." The trainer mumbled to himself, unable to say anything but the horrible truth. He could hear the voices in his head calling him so many awful names and words. And they were all right. He was horrible, he was a freak, he was a monster. 'You can't change. You can never change. It was hopeless for you to even try,' A voice potently said, sounding much like his fake father. After a few seconds, the boy heard footsteps approached him from all around. He looked up and saw several figures shambling out of the mists. They looked human, but as they came closer he could see they had no faces, just like the nurses. They had open chests, claw marks all over their bodies, and was stumbling closer to the boy. Where these the ghosts of the people who died here or more abominations he had dreamed up? It didn't matter. The boy didn't move. They were carrying baseball bats, crowbars, and switchblades. Everyone of them descended onto Ash, hitting and cutting the guilty boy without resistance. Ash felt blood pool in his mouth after one of them smacked him across the face. It felt as if several bones were being broken. He still didn't fight back or run. This was all his fault. Did he deserve this... Or did he? Perlis had caused him to go mad, the cult split his mind, and Jessie did say that spell... that spell. That's when the fog appeared. But... he was still responsible for the creatures. No matter what those people did, they weren't the creator and ordered them to kill. He was Edward Hyde.

 _"DADDY!"_ A voice screamed. Before Ash had realized who yelled that, the faceless mob was set upon by the skull-headed children, who grabbed onto the monsters and dug into the bloodless flesh with their tiny knives. The faceless mob struggled to rid themselves of the tiny demons, but the Cubone monsters only became more ferocious. Several of them resorted to slashing the faceless heads clean off. Ash was still too stunned to move. He just watched as his child - the Cubone monsters laid waste to the mob. Soon, all that was left of his faceless punishers was fleshy pieces scattered around him. The skull-headed monsters turned to Ash. _"It's okay, daddy."_ One of them said as it's skull head smiled, which looked very strange. The other 'children' nodded. _"We know you didn't mean to do this."_ Another one said, making the boy looked away. 'No. I…I did mean to it. I-I could've stopped this as Edward Hyde, but…but I was killing people along with the creatures,' Ash thought as he remembered his other-self throwing cars at police officers. He then grunted as his body was slowly bleeding. _"Are you okay?"_ One of them asked as it tried to put its bloodied hand on Ash's shoulder. The boy jerked away in response, disappointing the creature. Ash gulped, not sure what to make of these creatures. He had been badly beaten, but he felt was numb. Very numb. He stared at the tiny creatures around him, who were watching him with concerned eyes. Why would they care? They were monsters he had created... Creatures born from his own feelings of his father. Did that made them think he was their father? Did they attack his other half because he saw him as a monster? Ash weakly tried to get up, but nearly collapsed. Two of the creatures rushed to his side and supported him. Why were they... why... why weren't they attacking him? What was... It suddenly became clear to Ash. These things were manifestations of his need to please his father. All they wanted was to make 'Daddy' happy. That was all they really wanted. The de-facto leader of Ash's 'children' pointed to a building not far away from where Ash had stopped. Ash could barely make it out in the thick mist, which was getting dark and darker in his eyes. _"Daddy...?"_ One of them asked. Ash smiled weakly before falling unconscious. His children began to slowly drag the larger creature towards the building. He'd be comfier there.

Meanwhile, the gang looked at each other in shock, horror, and confusion before looking at the corpse of 'Henry'. They didn't know what to feel or what to say. Jessie and Misty soon thought back to the memories they saw. They had secretly hoped Ash was right and they were just fakes made by Pyramid Head or Edward, but now, they knew for a fact they were right about Ash. But now that they knew, they didn't know what to say about the boy. Meowth, Pikachu, and Axew get out of their cage and looked at Jessie. James, Tracy and Rose get out their cages and stretched, their backs aching in pain for staying in those cages for so long. The group soon exited the arena and regrouped at the base of the hallway. "What do we do now?" Meowth asked, saying what was on their minds. Jessie sighed as she looked down the hallway. "The only thing we can do for now. Go back to the hospital, take Axew back to his Twerp, and heal up," She said. Misty looked at the group of thieves. "What about Ash?! He's out there and…and..." Misty said, but her throat was caught on what Ash had done. She wanted to help him, but she knew how dangerous he truly was. "What about him? He's a crazy killer! He's Edward Hyde! He created those monsters! He...he did all of this! Once we're healed, we're going to go out and find him! He needs to pay for what he has done! I don't know how or why Ash is this horrible creature in the first place, but we can't ignore what he has done!" Tracy yelled, bitterness in his voice as he felt betrayed by his friend. Misty flinched and then nodded.

The group soon walked down the hallway and found themselves enter the white hallway. "Huh? What the heck? Are we in the hallway with the memories again? But what about that area with the symbol and the elevator we used?" Jessie asked, very confused. Misty groaned and held her head, equally as confused, however, the others didn't know what they were talking about. "I don't know what you're talking about, but we thought we were close to the surface due to the fact we could hear something happening upstairs," Rose said, making the two women more confused. Misty sighed. "It doesn't matter. We're in the other World now. Logic is the last thing I would use to describe this place," Misty said as they continued to walk. The others nodded. "Yeah, and it does explain why we heard that siren earlier, although, now I'm worried as to what the area looks like now," Meowth asked as they entered the basement. The people who were trapped in Pyramid Head's lair agreed. "The stadium still looks the same as ever, but the town has been warped to be much different. I'm just glad you guys still have all your stuff," Misty said as she tried to lighten the mood, especially since she knew they were going to see those bodies soon. The group nodded as they exited the basement. After a few minutes, they reached one of the many corpses 'Edward' created. "Wh-what the? Wh-why are there dead people here?" James asked, terrified. Misty and Jessie looked away from the corpses as the group kept walking. "Ash…Edward killed the people who were here, hiding from the creatures. He saw them as opponents and challenged them to a fight so he could be 'the champion'." Misty said with regret as she remembered the mad writing of 'Edward'. The group winced at that fact. Jessie and Misty soon walked forward. They soon walked through the stadium, walked around the barbed wire fence in the middle of the arena, walked into the locker rooms, and saw the horrible things 'Edward' had done. Jessie and Misty kept moving forward despite their friends pausing to gasp in horror, throwing up in horror, or closing their eyes and fallowing them.

Eventually, they entered the main lobby and quickly saw Luc, who noticed them and ran up to them. "Misty, Jessie, what's going on? Why did I see Ash exit the area in such a hurry? Where's Ash's father? And are these your friends?" Luc asked. The group glower in shame and anger. "We're going to explain everything once we're back at the hospital. For now, know that we know the truth about Ash, Luc. And when we get back to the hospital, we deserve an explanation Mr. guardian of Ash's mind," Jessie said as she tried to give as much take to the situation. They weren't in the mood to explain what happened to the boy twice. Luc froze once she said that and then sighed. "Alright, let's go now," He said as he walked towards the entrance.


	30. Chapter 29

ch. 29

 **Hey guys, sorry I haven't been uploading much. College has kept me busy and I've been reading and watching videos. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter.**

The drive to the hospital was very quiet as Jessie drove. Misty had taken the seat next to her while the others sat in the back. They were still thinking about what they had learned and the questions in their heads. The most glaring question was whether they could trust Luc, this supposed man made out of Ash's thoughts, or Ash, who was now a madman on the loose. They noticed the boy was nowhere to be seen so he must have taken another road to who knows where. The group soon saw the hospital drive and Jessie quietly parked inside the garage. After getting out and a bit of navigation, they reached the basement and entered the main room. The group looked around and quickly saw Iris and Cilan talking to themselves about their friends. Axew teared up and let out a cry as he jumped out of Tracy's arms and rushed towards his master. Iris and Cilan quickly noticed the sound and smiled once she saw her baby dragon. "Axew!" She yelled as she got up. The dragon jumped into her arms and the two embraced each other in a deep, powerful hug. Cilan smiled at this moment before turning towards the group. "I'm so glad you're back safe. We were very worried about you...but…where's Ash and who are the two people with you?" Cilan asked as he soon realized that one of their friends was missing. The gang froze and then looked away. "We can't talk about Ash right now. What happened to him needs to be kept a secret from the rest of the survivors. A-anyway, I am Luc Rider. A survivor the group met in the Colosseum," Luc said as he bowed. Cilan and Iris smiled and bowed back. "I'm Cilan, and this is Iris," Cilan introduced himself and Iris as they stood up. Iris smiled and waved at the man. Luc stood up and waved back. "And I am Rose Gillespie. I'm the person Ash met back at the police station," The woman who wore a priest outfit said with a sad smile. Cilan and Iris nodded back and were about to say something when suddenly a familiar woman rushed up to the group.

"Miss Gillespie! Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're back! Are you okay? What happened to Ash? What's this promise you need to keep a secret?" She asked. The gang turned towards her and smiled. "My dear Claudia, I am so glad to see you again. But I am truly sorry dear, I can't tell you what happened right now. I will give a… briefing on what happened to me once things are settled with Mr. Ketchum's friends. They need to understand what has happened to the boy. For now, please let the others know I am safe and to keep intruders from barging in from the room we'll be in," Rose said. Claudia sighed and nodded. Before they knew what to say, she soon left them. The group blinked in confusion before shaking their heads and looking at each other. "Before we go, shouldn't Tobias and Lisa learn about whatever you're going to talk about, too?" Tracy asked. The group soon realized this as well. "Now that you mentioned it, it does make sense. But where are they?" James asked as he looked around, however, they weren't in the area. The gang nodded, confused by this. "Someone from Tobias's group found a way deeper into the hospital and now the group and Lisa went down to investigate it. We don't know when they'll be coming back or what they'll find down there. We can only hope they'll be okay." Cilan said. The gang smiled at this. "Alright, since we know that, let's not doddle anymore and go to the back room," Jessie said. Everyone agreed.

...

In another part of town, Alessa walked into the Green Lion's Antique shop and looks around in regret and sadness. The place was a total mess with claw marks everywhere and a horrible stench came from the hole in the wall. The little girl moved around the fallen bookshelf towards the cash register. Once there, she shuffled through the desk and the draws until eventually, she found a secret department and opened it. She sighed in relief once her eyes gaze upon the Flauros, which was laying into four pieces at the draw's bottom. Alessa picks the pieces up and pocketed the device's pieces. Alessa then began to leave the area.

...

Back with the group, once they shut the door to the office and made sure nobody was listening, they each grabbed a seat and sat in a circle. "Alright, now that we're alone, what happened to Ash? Where is he? Why can't we tell anyone of what has happened to him?" Iris asked, very confused by what was going on. Cilan and the rescued people nodded. Jessie sighed and looked down. "The Twerp…or at least the version we have known all this time isn't exactly who he says he was. In reality, he is Edward Hyde...and the original Ash Ketchum...died a long time ago. The Ash we know took his identity, memories, and his essence and became some kind of weird combined being. Luc is the only one who knew the original Ash, and that's because he's some kind of ghost that lived inside the boy just like Pyramid Head and Edward. However, in the end, Edward managed to destroy him in a fit of jealousy. The boy we know isn't human, he's...whatever Dark and his 'pieces' are. He's...he is Edward Hyde and he's the reason the monsters exist and why we're trapped in this town," Jessie said. Cilan, Iris, and the rescued people blinked before letting out a big "WHAT!?". After a few seconds of silence and disbelief, Cilan shocked his head and looked at the woman in shock and disbelief. "What? Ash...Is Ash really Edward Hyde guy? But I thought Edward was just a spirit trapped inside Ash and of the guardian. How could Edward destroy him and take away his identity? How did Ash not know he was Edward?" Cilan asked. Misty growled and then stood up. However, Jessie grabbed her arm before she could start yelling. Misty took a few deep breaths before sitting back down.

"Yes. Ash and Edward are the same people. I...I wished they weren't but we can't ignore the truth and what Pyramid Head told us. As for why they are the same person...it's a long story. I still don't get how you can 'destroy' a personality, but then again, I'm not a doctor nor do I really understand split personalities so we can't really argue about whether a personality can be destroyed. And yes, he is just as responsible for what has happened to the town and creating those…creatures like 'Edward'. The Edward we've known and hated is the projection of all those horrible feelings and thoughts Ash locked away a long time ago. Those creatures are Ash's warped versions of Pokémon and how they act," Misty explained, trying her best to be reasonable and explain why Ash didn't know. However, that didn't call them in the slightest. They were all still very confused and frightened. "But how is that even possible, and why did you say Ash is a mix of both Ash and Edward? And how is Luc a 'guardian of Ash' while also being Ash?" Tracy asked as he scratched his head. Luc sighed and looked away. "It's…complicated about the master. As for me, I am not a ghost or spirit like Edward and Pyramid Head. I am a split personality of Ash that was 'created' by a man named Xhas, who was the reminds of a past life of Ash. He never explained to me nor Ash how he was able to do that, however, he was the one who taught me all about Edward and the pieces of Dark. He created me to fight with him against the darkness, to stop it, and keep Ash safe. However, even with my help, that...that monster destroyed my master and... Xhas," Luc said. This surprised everyone. "Does that mean the boy can see what you're seeing?" Rose asked, making the group nervous. Luc shocked his head and looked at her. "Not that I'm aware. I have separate thought from the monsters of the town and Ash. It's how I could survive even when the original me died long ago, so you don't have to worry about me. But I should explain what Edward is," Luc said. The group nodded. The man took a deep breath and then looked at Pikachu.

"The first thing to know is that what Tobias told us was entirely right about Edward. Edward Hyde is a piece of Dark, a monstrous Legendary with powers as great as Arceus. He represents the shadow of the mind and thus he could travel into Ash's mind once he was born. This monster originally only entered the boy's mind to free two other pieces of dark named Hexxus and Light, who were originally trapped in the master's body thanks to Xhas trapping them in himself during his lifespan. Unfortunately, freedom wasn't enough for the pieces of Dark. They wanted revenge on Xhas for trapping them, so they decided to stay in the boy and corrupt him and become a puppet body for Dark. Secondly, Edward passed his time waiting for Xhas to be reborn by infecting humans with his soul, making them apart of himself and allowing him to feel and 'act' like a human. One of these hosts of darkness was Henry Jekyll of this town, however, instead of turning evil or losing his mind, he split his mind allowing Edward to be in full control and to have a real human form. And unfortunately, this leads to both of them dying by their own hands. Thirdly, Edward Hyde was an ancestor of the master and… The master's father caused Edward to lose control of himself and snap. He became convinced he was my master and grew jealous of the boy. That...is why that...thing killed him." Luc said in shame, shocking the group.

"So that explains how Edward Hyde could be a spirit and a physical person as well. But… when did the boy ever met his father? The man we met was a fake, created by the boy to fill his inner desires," Rose said, shocking Luc, Cilan, and Iris. Luc looked down in shame. "Damn it, I knew it would be too good for him to be real," Luc grunted under his breath as Cilan and Iris gasped in shock. Iris shocked her head. "Wait, y-you're…you're telling me that Ash's dad, the man who we've been searching for, the man who made us go back to this hell hole was…WAS A FAKE!?" Iris yelled, angered and betrayed. The group looked away and nodded. "Yes. He was created by Ash's own mind to comfort him and to make sure we didn't escape the town. You see, there's nothing outside of town. We're trapped in Xuchilbara's dimension, so even if we had reached the border of the forest, we would've been turned around and realized we were trapped in here," Jessie said glumly. The group gasped in shocked and horrified. Iris imminently growled in anger as she looked at her injured leg. "THAT LOW SOME LITTLE BRAT! I CAN'T BELIEVE HE DID THAT! HE DRAGGED US THROUGH THIS HELL FOR A MAN THAT WASN'T EVEN REAL!" Iris yelled, scaring Axew. Misty glared at the girl. "Ash didn't know the man was fake until Pyramid Head revealed him! Ash didn't know he was a monster! HE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS CAUSING ALL OF THIS!" Misty yelled. Iris growled back at Misty. "How? How do you not know you're a monster and that you're this merged person? You still haven't explained that?" Iris yelled. Luc stood up in anger and took a deep breath. "QUIET!" Luc yelled. The group looked at him in shock. Luc sighed once he got everyone's attention. "Look, I know you're upset about Ash, but if you keep interrupting my explanation, we won't be able to figure out what is going on with the mast...with the monster," Luc said. The group simply nodded causing Luc to sit down.

"Much better. Anyway, it all started during the winter when we first took a trip to this village. We were visiting our grandfather for the winter break with our mother. But everything changed when we met Alessa. She never intended for Ash to suffer nor for us and our mother to be a trap in this other world, however, our grandfather was a member of the church, and since we were relatives, we were sucked in as well. Due to Dark's power, she was able to talk to us psychically and recognized us as her protector, Xuchilbara, and called out to us. However, that awaken it's powered and drove Ash into a berserk mood. We couldn't control ourselves and attacked anything we saw, this lead to his grandfather thinking master was an animal and his attempted murder. After we escaped the gas, the boy became afraid of himself and Edward, so he tried to be more passive to his bullies to starve the beast. Meanwhile, Xhas and I tried to capture Edward and the others and make them pay for what they had done, but we couldn't find the monster nor Hexxus nor Light. Once we realized that our search would be fruitless if we continued, Xhas and I tried our best to help the boy with his fears. But the boy couldn't let the incident die and it affected Edward in ways even he didn't know how. During the Summer Break, we returned Yoka Village with Delia to check on our grandfather. However, things turned sour once Ash snuck into the Sanitarium to reach grandfather. But, all that did was traumatized the boy. Grandpa calling the boy a freak and a monster and that place...it fueled our nightmares. Delia found out, scolded us, and then tried to calm us down with a trip to the amusement park. It might have worked if she hadn't let it slip she was going to meet Ash's dad later that week allowing Ash to find his father…and learn his father was a murderous psycho who is a descendant of Edward Hyde. That…monster tricked Ash into killing a man and made the boy confused about himself and his relationship with Edward. Thankfully the police captured that...thing, but we had to lie about our relationship with the madman and how he was connected to our father. We don't know what happened to our father or grandfather after so many years though. It's been a long time since we've last been here," Luc said, then looked away in shame as he felt a chill in his soul, "But the boy couldn't take it anymore, so our mother took us back home. When we went back, we realized…Edward had changed..." Luc lingered off before holding himself and shivering. The group blinked in confusion.

"Changed? You mean when he starts thinking he was Ash?" Misty asked. Luc nodded and looked at the ground. "Yes...and no. Sometimes he thought he was Ash and claiming that we were defending Edward Hyde, and sometimes he was his regular self. Of course, in the beginning, this switch would only last about an hour or less and then Edward would return to 'normal', but we had no idea why Edward would switch between these thoughts or how to fix him. Hexxus and Light figured it had to do with Ash so they tried to make Edward leave our body, but the creature tried to assure them that he was okay. But eventually, his condition worsened over the months. The last straw was when he and the other pieces attacked Ash, Xhas, and myself a year after the incident. We managed to stop them, but the monster ran away into parts unknown and the boy began dreaming of a monstrous version of Edward hunting him. Hexxus and Light tried to help the monster out, but he only lashed out at them. The two pieces of Dark left the monster alone and allowed Xhas to find him and lock the creature into the deepest parts of Ash's mind. It was the only thing we could do since we couldn't get the darkness out of us." Luc continued as he thought about his and Ash's past. The group deeply listened, until that point, where they became confused. "Okay, but then how is this thing now Ash and where's Xhas and these other guys now? And what about the guardian?" Tracy asked. Luc looked up and then held his head.

"I...don't know how anything about Xuchilbara, nor where Light or Hexxus is. All I do know...is what happened to Xhas. Anyway, we…we had thought Edward was secure in that cage and that Light and Hexxus would never bother to free him…but we were wrong. Those two fiends were just buying their time until they were powerful enough to force Edward back into the realm of darkness, but Edward was too broken to listen to them. The creature stole their power to try and destroy the boy once and for all... and lost his mind. He attacked us like an animal, yet the monster managed to trap us in the boy's mind. He then...killed Ash and greatly injured Xhas. Since we were just personalities, the Ash and Xhas were disappearing like mist. All the memories they held, every fact they knew, all of what made them, them, was being erased. I…I was horrified by the creature's actions as it spared me and began to take over Ash's body. I yelled at the thing and told it nobody would love it or accept it and somehow, the monster realized that and decided to grab Ash's slowly disappearing mind. The creature soon merged with Ash, saving Ash's memories and essence, but it doesn't change the fact the master was now Edward Hyde. The Ash you all know is Edward Hyde. The only reason Ash didn't know this was because the merge messed the creature's memories up. He could only remember a few things about the boy he destroyed. He didn't know anything about me, Xhas, Hexxus, Light, Dark, Yoka Village, his grandfather, his father, nor his true self. So, I took this chance to try and redeem that monster. However...this truce began to fade. The monster returned to his old ways about two years ago and killed three people in Pewter city. I fooled Ash into forgetting his actions and thinking he had a creature sealed in his body, but I couldn't let him know the truth. If he found out, his monstrous side would fully take over and destroy all that we held dear. The boy had built up friendships I had never dreamed we would have made. I wasn't letting that slip away because of that…thing. But now…now everything is over. You all know the truth. I…I've failed Xhas," Luc explained, then covered his face as he began to cry.

The group had no words for what they had heard. Jessie and Misty looked down in shame as they knew all about this. They knew what he had been through, what Pyramid Head had told them, and what his father made him do. Suddenly Misty got up and hugged Luc. The group blinked by this sudden kindness. "It's okay, Luc. You did your best. While you did some things wrong, you did it for the right reason. Besides, you helped raised Ash into a sweet and kind boy," Misty said. Luc smiled and hugged back. "Misty… you're right about how this isn't Luc's fault, but Ash isn't the same boy we know, especially when he was acting as Hyde. He's…he's a monster. He's killing people, toying with them and their home, and is beyond redeemable. Nothing will get through to him now," Tracy said. Jessie frowned as she walked up to Tracy. "Look, twerp, I don't like what Ash has done as Edward, but don't you dare say he's unredeemable! You don't know what he's going through. Ash doesn't WANT to be Edward nor did he want to admit he and Edward were the same person. He didn't want to destroy the town and kill all those people. He didn't want to be like this. Yes, he still did all of that, but he was forced to be like this. Plus, this wouldn't happen to begin with if the church and Tobias didn't bud their heads and trick Ash back to this town. Sure, Ash dragged everyone into the town and made these mindless monsters, but it was Pyramid Head who gave him the power and it was Perlis and Tobias who drove Ash into wanting to kill again," Jessie scolded. The group looked at her in shock.

Rose growled and stood up. "Look here, miss. The church was trying to reconstruct Xuchilbara! We have to atone for our sins for sealing a part of him away in the Flauros! We were just trying to make him well! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL US OUT FOR CAUSING THE BOY TO BE CRAZY!" Rose yelled, causing everyone to freeze. Meowth scratched his head. "Wait, I thought what was in that stone thing was Yveltal's soul or brain or whatever? Now you're saying it's actually part of the twerp's soul?" Meowth asked. Rose took a deep breath, adjusted her hair and nodded. "Yes. But how do you…wait, you three must be Perlis's friends the Bishop was talking about. No wonder you knew where the church was when you captured the boy. Anyway, that was a lie our dear departed friend told you. If people learned that Xuchilbara had part of his soul sealed away, they'll think the church and the other gods are just as dangerous as him." Rose explained.

"But why and where is the Flauros anyway?" Iris asked. Rose holds her arms and looked away. "The Flauros is back in my shop, but based on what little I saw of outside, who knows if we could reach it now. As for why… It all started back in the late 1870s, when Alessa first plunged the town into the other world, she 'created' Pyramid Head as her protector, and from what little information we have about that time, it sounded like it disobeyed her a few times. It never tried to kill her but it was willing to kill other monsters and the people she cared about. Those who hadn't been sucked into Alessa's nightmare soon noticed they couldn't communicate with Xuchilbara. Eventually, Alessa's reign ended but that wasn't the end of it. Do you know about the mysterious fire that destroyed Silent Hill?" Rose asked. Everyone nodded, except Luc, of course. "Yeah, but from what we read from Markham's report, nobody knew why it happened," Jessie said. The others agreed. Rose looked at the ground and sighed. "Poor Markham. He was so promising when he was a young boy, but he starts wanting to change things and questioned the lord we couldn't tell him of the many of the secrets we had been holding back from nonbelievers. But…if we are ever to get out of here, I'll have to tell you that Xuchilbara was the one who burned down our town. It was the first sign to us that Xuchilbara was losing control of himself. The god had grown tired of us and used his great power to purge as many people as he could. We do not know why at that moment in time he chose to do it, but after our remaining members were left without a home and it seemed like it was the end of the church. Xuchilbara appeared before us and admitted in great shame that he was the reason our town was destroyed. He then redeemed himself by giving us a mission to spread God's words to places and to find another home. Our word spread, however, Xuchilbara became distant to us again. When our town was reformed, things seemed to be fine enough, but then… Xuchilbara attacked us without warning in the form of a great monster. Our priestess and monks figured out it was Xuchilbara and tried to reason with him, but it didn't work. Our angle was acting like a wild animal so... we had to use the Flauros. It could only hold a fraction of his mighty soul but it was enough for him to calm down. He never told us why he had gone berserk but it must have something to do with that insane monster! That thing needs to die so Xuchilbara can be purged from its evil and be reborn!" Rose yelled, causing Misty to stand up and growl.

"Don't you dare call Ash that! If it wasn't for you guys, Tobias, and Perlis, Ash wouldn't be in the state he is now! At least, Tobias realized his mistake, but you're just blaming Ash for being like this! HE HAD NO CHOICE TO BECOME EDWARD!" Misty yelled. She quickly panted as the room became quiet. The gang got up. "I think we've learned enough. Let's go get some rest. We're all tired and stressed out," Iris said. The others agreed. The group soon exited the room. "Miss Rose, you should go back to your group now and inform them of what happened while we go to bed. Just don't mention Ash," Tracy said as they exited the room. Rose nodded and walked away. "James, Meowth and I will search for Tobias's group. We'll have to find Ash eventually," Jessie said as her members groaned. Misty sighed. "Alright. I'm…just going to stay here for a while and think about things. I'm not tired yet," Misty said. Luc nodded then stood next to her. "I'll stay with her to make sure she doesn't overexert herself," Luc said. The others nodded and everyone except Luc went their separate ways. Misty looked at the man and then looked away. They were now alone in the hallway. After a few minutes, the water trainer sighed and looked away from the man. She couldn't help but feel Ash was near her and it made her feel uncomfortable. "Misty…I'm sorry for all of this. If I had just been a better guardian or…" Luc began to say, but Misty soon raised her hand and put a finger to his mouth. "Luc, I already told you to stop blaming yourself. It's the reason he's in this position in the first place. You two keep trying to put the world on your shoulders and be a good boy, so much so that you made Ash want to deny who he truly was. It's nice for you to want to do good and be nice, but forcing you to smile and not get too angry is hurting you," Misty said, causing Luc to pause. He then looked at Pikachu, who was on the ground looked concerned. "Misty…you're right about how hiding the truth only made things worse. But what was I supposed to do? Tell him that he's a monster! Let Edward's personality be dominant and…and make him embrace the darkness! I…I hated Edward since the day we first met, and I've hated myself for letting that thing take Ash away from everyone! I wasn't going to let him hurt anyone else," Luc said as he holds himself.

"Luc, you and Ash can be saved. I know it. You've done so much good even after what Edward did to you. You're still nice, kind and sweet. You've made so many friends and rivals. You've defeated who knows how many villains and jerks. Yes, what you've…what Ash has done is horrible, and yes, he needs to make up for what he has done. But he doesn't have to be like Edward nor does he have to be afraid of becoming like Edward. You just needed to let him know the truth about himself and his father." Misty said with a smile. Luc leaned against a wall and then looked at Pikachu. A sharp pain entered his chest as he looked away. "It's too late now. Ash is now out there and he knows the truth. I… I fear what has happened to him." Luc said. Misty and Pikachu nodded. She then leaned against the wall next to Luc, causing him to blush. "I'm worried too and I want to go out there and find him...But...I'm tired and ever since I ran out of bullets, I haven't been able to do anything," Misty said, then looked down. Luc put his hands in his pockets. He looked away, sighed, then pulled something out from one of the pockets and gave it to Misty. "Here. I found some bullets while you were still looking for 'Henry'. I hope you'll use them wisely," He said. Misty looked at the box of hand bullets and smiled before she grabbed them and then pulled out her gun. She quickly filled it with bullets and then put the gun away. "Thanks." She replied back. He smiled and rubbed his head. Luc nervously laughed. "You're welcome." He said. Misty smiled, however, a question popped into her head. "Although, why hasn't Pyramid Head attacked you like what happened to Ash's fake Dad or locked you away? Ash…Edward does hate you for what you did, " Misty asked. Luc held himself as Pikachu climbed onto the shoulder. "I... don't know. I don't who Pyramid Head nor what he wants. All I know is he's the reason Ash can do all the stuff he can in this world. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," Luc said. Misty rolled her eyes and then smiled. "Alright. But... now... I don't know what to do with Ash. I still think he can be saved from this madness, but nobody can trust him now…not even myself trusts him," Misty said as she held her arms.

"Yeah...although...there's a reason you're so uneasy around Edward. I don't know why or how, but you remind me of this beautiful black-haired woman. I bet that was a woman Edward met while he was alive and was originally Henry Jekyll. It would explain why I act so much differently from Ash," Luc said. Misty blushed and nodded. "Yeah, that does make sense. And it's probably why Ash called me Lucy during those brief times he went crazy since that was her name. A-Although, if I was this Lucy woman you talked about, I don't remember, so I don't know if you're like Henry or not. But from what Ash's fake father was like, he and you aren't all that different." Misty said. Pikachu nodded and became scared. Luc noticed this and loosen his grip. "Don't worry Pikachu, I'm not going to hurt you or am I anything like Edward," Luc said, calming Pikachu down. Misty smiled and wrapped her arm around him. "You're truly a kind man, Luc," She said with a smile, causing him to smile back. "We should get to bed now," He said. Misty nodded and the two began to walk towards a room they could sleep in. They noticed the area was less dense than normal, and they could people crying. Misty shivered as she held his arm. Luc blushed and then held her hand. "It's going to be okay, Misty. I'll protect you," He said as they walked around the corner. Misty blushed and nodded. Pikachu smiled and nuzzled against the man's head. Luc blinked and felt the pain in his chest as they kept walking. Suddenly a sharp hiss was heard from behind them. The two quickly turned towards the sound and froze when they saw a skull child glaring at them while looking from beyond a corner in the hallway. It soon runs off causing Misty to let go of Luc. "Ash, Ash, please, calm down," She yelled as she rushed towards the corner, but when she looked, she saw it was gone. She gulped once she realized this. She turned towards Luc. "We have to tell the others." She said. Luc nodded.

...

The air was still as Ash sat on a large throne that was too big for him, still unconscious from the beatings he had endured. His 'children' had moved him inside a very secure area where the 'monsters' wouldn't find him and were sloppily applying bandages as best they could to his wounds. Once they had finished, the skull-headed creatures milled around the boy, keeping a close watch on him. The ones that weren't at his side had been wandering around the empty town, trying to find someone that would make Daddy feel better when he woke up. A handful came in, bringing random items such as withered flowers and bubble-headed Pikachu dolls. One of the creatures came in, not bringing anything other than news. Not sure if Daddy could hear it or not, it leaned into Ash's ear and whispered all it had heard. Nobody could be certain if Ash really did hear all of it. It wasn't clear if Ash had understood the entirety of the creature's news. He was still unconscious, after all. Who hears things when they are sleeping? But judging by the way his sleeping face tensed, he had heard at least part of it. Suddenly his chest glows red and he let out a monstrous roar.

…

Team Rocket had entered the 'basement-basement' the occupants had found and were walking down a hallway very like the ones upstairs. "Ugh, where are Tobias and the others? I want to go to bed as quickly as possible. I need my beauty sleep." Jessie complained to her fellow members. Meowth and James yawned. "I don't know, but I'm exhausted. Can't we just sleep on the floor?" He whined. The leader glared at her fellow teammate. "I can't sleep on these dirty floors. It's too gross. Besides, we're on a mission," Jessie scoffed back. Meowth shrugged. "Honestly, I'm more worried on how we're supposed to get out of this messed up town once we return to our world. We can't just walk out," The talking cat said. James nodded. "Yeah. Those creatures destroyed nearly every car in town that was outside," The blue-haired man said. Suddenly this sparked an idea in Jessie's head. "What about the cars in garages?" Jessie said with a smile.

"But who'd stick around long enough to leave a car in the garage? Half the population's bolted and I imagine that was the half that actually had cars," The blue haired man said. The red-haired woman held a figure up against her chin as she thought. "What about…" Jessie began saying then glanced at the sign at the end of the hallway, which they had reached _._ It was divided into two with one side having: _A. Gillespie 13, S. Mason 38, H. Mason 28, C. Mason 7, D. Gillespie 11._ And the other side had: _H. Jekyll 36, E. Hyde 36, T. Grady 42, A. Ketchum 10._ Under the sign was a holder carrying pamphlets showing the bus route and schedule. A flash of inspiration struck the woman. "THAT'S IT!" She suddenly yelled out. Rose, James, and Meowth were surprised by this outburst, jumping back nearly a foot. "What? What is it, Jess?" James asked. Jessie grabbed a pamphlet. "The bus! There's got to be a station or something where they're kept when they're not on the roads, for refueling or cleaning!" Jessie yelled. James smiled. "Yes, of course! But where would we find it and why is there a holder for buses down here?" James said, becoming confused at the end. Meowth folded his arms and glared at Jessie. "What if those things trashed it already?" Meowth asked. Jessie looked down at the map. "It'd be in the main district… and the twerp wouldn't think of having them tear that place up. Remember, they acted like crazed wild Pokémon. Plus, they don't go into buildings unless it's of major importance to the twerp like the Sanitarium. Now, where is…" Jessie said, "HERE!" She pointed to a point on the map. The bus warehouse had been marked on the map, so the drivers could refer to it if they needed to. She showed the point to an excited James and Meowth.

"A few streets across and down, and we'll have a vehicle to get outta this place beside the ambulances!" Meowth said. Jessie smirked and nodded. "Yeah, and not only that -" James said.

" _Running away?"_ A voice angrily said. All three of them jumped. That voice was a furious Cubone monster, one of Ash's murderous 'children'. Their eyes whirled around in terror but were unable to spot the speaker. "Oh no…" Meowth squeaked. Judging by the rustling of doors, there were more of these little demons around them. _"You're not leaving yet!"_

" _Daddy's not letting you take Momma away!"_

" _You're going to pay for causing all of this!"_

The three spun around in a circle, trying to see the creatures threatening them. They didn't. All the monsters were hiding behind the doors. A loud WHUMP nearby suddenly took their minds off any small monsters around them. Suddenly another WHUMP was heard, sounding like it was closer. _"Daddy's here! AND HE'S MAD! HAHAHA!"_ The voices laughed before it faded away. Suddenly Tobias and his group burst through one of the doors, causing the trio to scream in shock. "Jessie, James, Meowth, calm down, it's just us," Tobias yelled at them. The trio stopped and blinked as they looked at the group. "You three, what are you doing here and who was talking a moment ago?" Trip asked, angry at the trio. Jessie coughed as she tried to calm herself. She took in a deep breath, then yelled, "It doesn't matter how we got here, Edward is coming to kill us all!" The group of survivors' eyes widens in fear. Tobias growled and turned towards the entrance. "Everyone, we have to get to the entrance before that monster arrives!" Tobias yelled. The group agreed except for Lisa who looked shocked and horrified. Soon the survivors and their Pokémon rushed out of the hallway, leaving Team Rocket and Lisa behind. "Hey, miss, are you okay?" Meowth asked. She shocked her head. "Yeah. I…I just need to get some air." She said before following the survivors. Team Rocket knew this wasn't going to end well.

…

Cilan, Iris, and Tracy were all trying to keep the survivors calm and to keep them in the basement once they heard the WHUMPS. Meanwhile, Luc and Misty were just outside the entrance of the main room, holding each other to keep balance. Once the WHUMPS died down, Misty looked at the stairwell. "It's Edward. I…I have to go," Misty said as she began to walk towards the exit, but she was soon grabbed by Luc's hand. She looked at him. "Misty, stop for a minute. You're out of ammo and I don't have a weapon other than Pikachu. We can't go out there just yet. Let's wait for Tobias and the others," Luc said. Pikachu nodded. The water trainer took a deep breath, then nodded. After a few seconds, Tobias and his men rushed past them towards the stairs with Lisa and Team Rocket close behind. Lisa suddenly entered a door while Team Rocket rushed up to them. "Guys, what's going on? Why did those skull children taught us and said Edward was coming?" James asked, quickly remembering to say Edward instead of Ash since there were other people nearby. Tracy, Cilan, and Iris rushed up to them. "What's this about Edward coming?" Tracy asked. The others nodded. Misty sighed. "One of Edward's monsters saw me with Luc and then run off. I'm pretty sure it also heard us while we were talking about Edward. Anyway, now Edward is coming to attack," The water said, making the group become worried. "What?! What are we going to do..." Iris said then collapsed. Cilan quickly catches her. "Iris, you need to get some rest. You can't go out now." Cilan said.

"But Edward?" The black woman replied. Tracy sighed. "We're too injured to go up there. Let's get some rest. Besides, Tobias and the others can handle this," Tracy said. Misty glared at her friend and grabbed him by the shirt. "Tracy, Ash is in danger! We can't just leave him alone! Besides, what…what if it's really him who's here? What if…what if they kill Edward permanently?" The water trainer asked, then an image flashed before her eyes of Ash holding a pistol in the air as a bullet going between his ribs. She closed her eyes and tears formed in her eyes. Luc holds her. "Misty, it's okay. We're going to help him. We're not going to let him die," Luc said. She sniffled and nodded. Jessie looked at the group. "Misty's right. We have to help the twerp out. So, what if he's a monster who's destroying the town, he's still just a stupid kid inside," The evil team leader said. James and Meowth agreed. Tracy, Cilan, and Iris sighed. "Alright, but we can't go with you due to our injuries. Please be careful out there," Cilan said. The group nodded. Cilan, Iris, and Tracy soon went back into the room. The rest of the group looked at the stairs. "Alright, James, you check on Lisa. Meowth, the twerps and I will go upstairs," Jessie ordered. James was taken aback, then sighed and agreed. Jessie smiled then looked at the trainers. "Come on. Let's go before someone gets hurt," Jessie said. Meowth and the Trainers agreed and followed Tobias's group upstairs.

They had reached the parking lot and were looking for Edward or a monster. However, there was nothing but the odd world Ash had made. The town was floating over a bottomless pit with buildings missing and the sky covered by a storm. Suddenly the wind blew hard as a black blur hopped from roof to roof before landing in front of the hospital parking space. It was the strange six-armed creature but it had a large green jewel that was sharp and misshapen. Apparently sent by the very angry 'ruler'. The group swallowed hard. This was **not** going to be pleasant.

…

Meanwhile, James entered a small room with a door on the other side. "James?" Lisa called out. The blue man jumped and turned around, he sighed in relief when he saw it was just Lisa. "Lisa, don't scare me like that. What's wrong with you?" James asked, not entirely sure how she knew his name since this was the first real time they had a chance to talk to each other. However, he just figured Jessie or the twerps had told her his name. "I get now… why I'm still alive even though everyone else's death. I'm not the only one still walking around. I'm the same as them. I just hadn't noticed it before." She said, sounding very sad. This only confused the thief even more. "Lisa, what are you talking about?" He managed to ask. Lisa sniffled. "Stay by me, James. Please. I'm so scared. Help me…" She said then took a few steps forward, "Save me from them. Please…James…" She opened her arms for a hug as she cried. James screamed in horror and then pushed her away. Suddenly she collided with the wall. A streak of blood flowed from her head and hit her eye, causing her to blink. She pushed herself away from the wall and stumbled a bit as blood began pouring from her nose and then her mouth. She stumbled a bit but kept moving as more blood began flowing down her face and making her outfit bloody. She was now moving like those strange nurse monsters. James screamed and rushed out the room as she followed. He then shut the door behind him and placed his body on the door so she couldn't escape. He soon heard her crying and banging on the door before it all became quiet. James looked down and said in sorrow, "Lisa."

…

The creature lumbered towards them with a vicious smile on its face. Tobias's Darkrai and Latios, along with his group's other Pokémon, jump forward and growled at the monster. The strange monster snarled at them and shifted its head around. It suddenly landed it's 'gaze' onto the water gym leader and smiled viciously. Suddenly it began to rush towards them. "Everyone, attack!" Tobias ordered. The Pokémon nodded. Some rushed towards the creature while others fired electric, fire, and other elements at the creature. However, the only Pokémon who wasn't attacking was Pikachu, he had noticed a familiar odor coming from the creature as it came closer. The giant shrugged off the elemental attacks and swiped towards the assaulting Pokémon. They dodge and a Sandslash uses Slash, hitting the monster in the stomach. The creature roared in agony as it stumbled back. However, before another Pokémon could attack, they soon realized the Sandslash had blood on its claw and the monster was slightly bleeding from the attack. "What the hell? Wh-why is it bleeding?" A trainer from Tobias's group asked. Tobias held his head, then shocked it. "It doesn't matter, it's still a threat and trying to kill us! We have to destroy it!" The leader of the group yelled. However, that only made a horrible thought entered Pikachu's and his friends' minds. What if the reason it's bleeding is that it's human? What if…this was Ash transformed?

Their thoughts were quickly interrupted as the monster growled and got back up. The rodent, not knowing what else to do, jumped out of Luc's arms and rushed towards the creature. "Pika pi!" The little mouse cried out, causing the monster to stop and look at it in confusion. "Everyone, use a more powerful attack this time!" Tobias yelled. The group of Pokémon soon fired out different energy attacks at the monster. The creature quickly looked up and was hit by all the various attacks, causing it to scream in agony. Jessie, Meowth, Luc, Misty, and Pikachu were horrified. After a few seconds, the attacks stopped and the creature fell onto the grated ground, the wound the Sandslash had made had grown and oddly more cuts and bruises formed on the monster. Pikachu and the gang rushed over to the creature. "Misty, what are you doing? Get away from that thing!" Tobias yelled as the small group reached the monster. Misty kneels before the fallen threat and touched its head. "Ash, Ash, are you okay?" She asked as she touched its shoulder. The monster moaned. However, Tobias and Trip were shocked and horrified while their members were confused. "Ash, Ash, we're here. It's going to be okay," Luc said as he touched the creature's shoulder. The creature growled and shoves Luc away onto the grated ground. Before anyone could do anything, the creature grabbed Misty with one of its arms and holds her like a hostage. "Stay! Or She dies!" Edward's voice came out of the creature's mouth. Everyone froze as they looked at the monster in shock. The monster daringly smiled as he held her close. "Finally, we can be together with my love. Nobody will take you away from me. You're going to be my empress forever, and nobody, not even the gods, will tear you away from me." 'Edward' said, then one of his hands grabbed her butt. She winced in shame as tears formed in her eyes. "Edward, get your hands off her!" A female voice yelled in anger. The creature and everyone else turned towards the voice and saw Alessa, however, she was wearing Ash's hat and holding a strange pyramid device. "The Flauros," Jessie said in shock.

"Edward, you know what this is. If you don't let go of her, then I'll activate it and…and kill you!" Alessa yelled. The creature growled and then wrapped his uppermost arms around her neck. "I wouldn't be so hasty to use that horrible machine, my love. Not unless you want this little one to lose her head!" The creature yelled, then laughed maniacally. The tears in Misty's eyes fell like waterfalls as this…thing held her. "Ash… Ash… I… I know you're in there. I…I know you don't want to hurt me. Please, Ash, listen to her and…and let me go," She quietly cried, hoping it would reach the boy she loved. However, the creature only stopped laughing, it still had that smile on its face. "Ash, listen to us!" Jessie yelled although she wasn't sure what made her think Ash could hear her, this was their last hope, "I know why you're upset, but we never intended to help cause all of this! Getting revenge on us or using Misty as a hostage won't solve anything! You can't make her love you!" The monster's smile faded slightly, replaced with anger as it turned towards the gang of thieves. Jessie gulped. "We didn't know this would happen, I swear! Pyramid Head tricked us into unleashing your power! If we had known this would happen, we'd never have used that spell! Not to mention, Rose just wanted to see you happy as the Guardian once again! She never intended for you to go through so much misery!" Jessie yelled.

Misty put a hand on the creature's face. "A-ash, you're not a monster… you… you know this isn't right. Pl-please… let go of me before Alessa decides to use the Flauros," Misty pleaded. Alessa nodded as she was shaking in fear. The creature snorted in frustration, trying to shake off Jessie's and Misty's words. "Think about it, you know us! We're thieves, not psychopaths! We're not heartless! We helped you before! We're not that evil! And you don't have to be those things! You can still be a hero! You can make up for your mistakes! But if you let your anger consume you, you're just going to die again." Jessie sadly stated. The six-armed creature came closer, an enraged grimace on its face. The monster's lower claws wrapped around Jessie's neck and brought her up to 'eye' level. Growling in rage, the monster readied to crush her throat. Jessie knew these might be her last words. Her once desperate tone became calm and unflinching. "Ash, we knew what would happen as much as… you did. *Cough* Y-yes, we helped cause this, and we're sorry. But if you think we should die for it… just think for a minute. You didn't mean for this, but… if you kill me and run away with Misty if you do this on purpose then… you haven't changed and you're as much a monster as this … thing. Do…do you really want to revert to the thing you hate the most? Do you think that'll make Misty happy?" That stopped the monster. 'Edward' paused with shock, then winced in pain. "I... I have to…I have to keep a hold…otherwise… otherwise, I'll…I'll die again. I…I don't want to die…" The creature quietly said to himself.

"We know you, Ash," Jessie continued, "You're a good kid. We've fought and we were the bad guys. We know a good guy when we see one. You came back here… back to this hellhole… to save someone you barely met. You did everything you could to help strangers and former foes. And you never willingly killed anyone. Say what you will about how… impulses in the back of head acted out here or…how the old you were a monster, you never tried to kill anybody. You're not Edward, Ash. Don't become him," Jessie said. There was a pause. For a minute, the world froze as what Jessie said sunk in. In that moment, the woman knew that somehow, she had reached him. The monster's smile was completely gone, replaced with a horrified expression of guilt. Suddenly strange sounding voices could be heard. "Kill the BEAST!"

"DESTROY IT BEFORE IT DESTROYS YOU!"

"It can never live like a human! It can only destroy!"

"It deserves to rot in hell!"

The creature's claws opened and Jessie and Misty fell to the ground. They winced in pain but looked up at the monster that mere seconds ago was ready to kill them. 'Edward' clutched his head as if suffering from a painful headache as the strange voices became more vicious and louder. Stumbling back, the once-terrifying creature now was someone trying to contain a burst of painful self-loathing. Eventually, it couldn't take it anymore. The monster let out a pitiful scream of guilt, anger, and regret at the sky, loud enough to make everyone covers their ears to block out the sad sound. The creature screamed louder and louder. The other voices were silenced as the monster yelled and its body was enveloped in the red light making it impossible to see its true form as the light became smaller. Eventually, the voice died down as the light laid on the ground. Once the light had dimmed, the group looked at the creature and gasped to see Ash, unconscious and laying on his stomach. He was covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. Alessa rushed over to the fallen boy. "Someone! Anyone! GET A DOCTOR!" Luc yelled out in fear as he fell to his knees. He felt very weak. The group of survivors blinked in confusion. Tobias shocked his head. "You heard the man, we need a doctor. In fact, bring two for Luc and the boy!" Tobias yelled. The group shocked their heads and nodded before rushing towards the hospital. "Is he going to be okay?" Alessa asked, terrified as Meowth checked the boy's pause. Meowth looked grim. "He will be once the doctors get here, but he'll need a lot of help to fully recover. He's bleeding badly," Meowth said. Alessa covers her mouth. Misty and Jessie soon catch their breath and looked at the boy in pity. They soon prayed he was going to survive.


End file.
